


give you a pizza my mind

by kenta (takadatv)



Series: we're forever, right? [1]
Category: JBJ (Band), JBJ95, Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal Life, ITS MOSTLY CRACK HONESTLY.., M/M, Mentions of alcohol, Slice of Life, a hint of hatae, also there are hints of side pairings or past things but Which ships are they really thinking emoji, and yes a lot of it is based on my own work experiences, donghan being a little shit and sanggyun also being a little shit so kenta is just stressed, half of this is a really bad textfic i'm sorry, including the part about poop related prank calls, kenggyun, like a lot, pizza place au, rated m for swearing and sex jokes and the overuse of the word 'spicy', the "we kissed when i was drunk" trope except with a Twist (later), tw for a very ooc kenta, very very light angst at the end but for the most part this is lighthearted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-03-15 10:35:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 27,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13611579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/takadatv/pseuds/kenta
Summary: "Kim Sanggyun1022 Hunus DrApartment 23 Buzz #7880Notes: send ur cutest driver lol ;)"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [galacticnik](https://archiveofourown.org/users/galacticnik/gifts).



> i love two(2) things in life: kenggyun and crackfics -- so why not combine them?? this is the result of a headcanon made up in nik's dms while i was dying of boredom over a few shifts at pizza hut, where the concept was just "sanggyun as an annoyingly flirty customer and kenta wants to die" and then it snowballed into this Big Pile of Mess
> 
> please excuse my bad characterization and the relentlessly lame jokes!!

Kenta has dealt with the asshole baby-boomers, the bratty preteens prank-calling the store just to make rude poop jokes, and cheap college students trying to rip them all off for free pizza by claiming non-existent orders; up until today, he really thought he'd seen it all. To his dismay, handling difficult customers is actually his unofficial-but-official _job,_ because he's the only one left in the store who is actually good enough at customer service to keep their regulars happy. They don't credit him enough for it, in Kenta's opinion, but his patience is legendary among the crew of Just Be JoyFULL; because Kenta is, thus far, undefeated.

On January 12th, 2018, in the dead of a Thursday night post-dinner-rush, Takada Kenta loses his cool with a customer for the first time in recorded history.

"Pardon? Could you repeat your problem for me?" Kenta's voice comes across kind, helpful; but his face is a perfect replica of the White Guy Blinking Gif and his grip shifts a little on the phone as he furrows his brows at the information pulled up on his screen.

For someone who is complaining about an order, the customer's voice doesn't sound very angry at all. Instead, it's filled with an amount of mirth that makes Kenta immediately feel like he's being made fun of.

"I _said,_ your service is garbage," he repeats. "I put super specific directions in the comment section and you guys ignored it! I wanna refund. Or a gift certificate. Maybe a refund _and_ a certificate..."

"Directions for what, sorry?" Kenta asks. He's looking right at the order made an hour ago by someone using the same phone number as the caller, and he isn't seeing anything out of the ordinary. He ordered a medium double-pineapple pizza with extra cheese and a two litre coke and that's it; there's not much room for error unless Donghan somehow messed up his pizza, and he almost never does.

Though Kenta's level of fake friendliness can be phenomenal, he dislikes picky customers like these, people who have probably never set foot in a fast food establishment and thus have no idea what kind of daily turmoil they go through to get people's dinner delivered Hot n' Ready _and_ made exactly to their specifications. Kenta would never, _ever_ call and make a fuss because his pizza is missing one or two pieces of pineapple or something, it's just cruel. (Although, realistically, he'd never be in that situation because pineapple on pizza is really gross.) "Sorry, sir, I'm not seeing any, um... special directions."

"I put it under the comment section for the drivers online. Y'know, the little box that says 'any special delivery directions'... right before checkout."

 _Oh._ Even more confused now — because what could the driver have done wrong if he still managed to get his pizza in the end? — Kenta mouses over to 'customer information' and clicks.

The blue dialogue box opens up and Kenta stares at the screen, his face going blank.

"See it? Uh, not to be mean or anything but if that grandpa was your cutest driver then that doesn't tell me good things about the rest of your crew. I mean old guys aren't really my taste, y'know?" He's not exactly laughing, but Kenta can hear the amusement in his voice and  _feel_ that he's messing around with him, and it makes his blood boil. _I don't have time for this!_ he thinks, wrinkling his nose a little. 

> _Kim Sanggyun_
> 
> _1022 Hunus Dr_
> 
> _Apartment 23 Buzz 1995_
> 
> _Notes: send ur cutest driver lol ;)_

"Hello? Kenta? You still there? Hellooo..."

He regrets having his name in his customer service quip. He makes a mental note to change his greeting from "Thank you for calling, Kenta speaking" to the basic "How can I help you" to avoid this problem in the future.

The pink-haired man breathes in through his nose before he decides to answer. He clears his throat lightly, then speaks, voice sounding a bit more flat than his usual chipper customer service tone: "I'm sorry, I just don't think I can do anything about not sending you a... cute driver..." They only _have_ one driver working tonight, anyway, and sweet Grandpa Kwon doesn't deserve this kind of slander.

Looking back on it, Kenta probably should've expected the next comeback.

"Hey, your voice is kinda cute, why don't you bring my pizza instead-"

Kenta hangs up.

 

* * *

 

"Uh, can someone tell me why the fuck this number's called the store six times?"

Noh Taehyun, JBJ's store manager, is not the scariest boss Kenta's had but he's definitely not the fluffiest either — he's a good guy, and someone who would die for his staff but his upfront, no-bullshit attitude and slight temper makes Kenta a bit afraid to admit when things aren't going perfectly, especially when it has something to do with him.

Perched on the seat beside the phone, Kenta opens his mouth to reply before the sharp ring of the phone starts again. A bony hand darts out at an inhuman speed as Kenta hits the _ignore_ button a little harder than necessary and the ringing stops for a second, then starts up somewhere in the back of the kitchen instead. Kenta looks back at Taehyun, whose eyebrows are raised halfway up his forehead.

"This guy is being really annoying," he says apologetically.

Taehyun makes a little snort noise and continues shrugging off his jacket, tossing it onto his desk. "Uh-huh." He's not normally here at night, but on Thursdays he comes in to do inventory — and to yell at their closing cook, Donghan, whenever he's doing something wrong. Which is pretty much all the time. "Tons of customers are annoying, but since when do _you_ give them the silent treatment? Did Donghan teach you to do that?" The ringing finally stops for now, and Taehyun looks at the little screen on the phone. _MISSED CALL: KIM SANGGYUN (7)._ "Is he prank calling?"

"No," Kenta replies, then pauses. "I mean, yes? Maybe — but he ordered online and then complained that we didn't follow his directions about sending a cute driver with his pizza. Then he, um, hit on me? So I hung up, and now he won't stop calling."

Taehyun just stares at him and then laughs, clapping his hands together as he walks away from the phone. Kenta waits for him to say something else. He doesn't. Kenta is a bit miffed.

"So what should I do?" Kenta prompts again, "Is there a way to block his number or-?"

"Nope, I'm guessing he'll just get bored of calling eventually. If you want to get really feisty, tell him you'll call the cops," Taehyun is at his desk, rifling through some paperwork from the day now, not paying much attention to him. "Be professional though, don't make my store look bad."

Despite being annoyed at the whole situation, this makes Kenta remember Sanggyun's comment about their store not looking good and he makes a face. "It doesn't seem like a prank call when he actually ordered pizza though," Kenta murmurs, looking back at the phone. It's been quiet for a couple minutes, and Kenta finally starts to relax. If he calls again, he'll answer properly; he really doesn't want to, but every time the phone has rung for the last ten minutes, it's been from caller ID _KIM SANGGYUN_ and he knows Donghan will probably scream or throw something if the phone rings in the back again.

Maybe he'll try the cops thing. It's not in his nature to go the dramatic route, but then again, he doesn't normally lose his patience like this either. Not even with the annoying poop jokers. There's something about Kim Sanggyun that makes Kenta feel strange, almost like his determination to get him on the phone means more than what it is — probably some bored kid looking for someone (read: Kenta) to waste his time.

He must've been joking when he said he thought Kenta was cute — you can't know someone's appearance based on their voice. 

(That doesn't stop Kenta from trying to picture Sanggyun's face anyway. He can't help it — he's curious.) 

Thirty seconds later, Kenta is considering getting up to clean something in boredom when the first ring starts, and he jolts. A muffled _"AGAIN?"_ comes from where Donghan is in the back as Kenta reads the name and exhales through his nose, but he sees Taehyun looking at him from the corner of his eye and reluctantly, he reaches out to pick up the phone.

"Kenta speaking, how can I help y—"

"Yo, don't hang up on me again! Bro, did you just ignore every single call? Do they train you to do that? Pretty unprofessional when I'm _supposed_ to be getting my refund—"

"Sir, with all due respect, you're not getting a refund." Kenta says this in the nicest, most polite voice he can muster at the moment, but if Taehyun snorting into the back of his hand is any indication, he's not doing a very good job. He clears his throat. "If I can be frank, you're kinda wasting everybody's time here, actually, so..."

"Frank? I thought you said your name was Kenta!"

"It's an expression," Kenta replies, closing his eyes as his voice goes flat. Commonly known as the Angry Voice, it's a tone usually reserved for when Donghan tests his patience late at night and never _ever_ used on customers. Kenta winces at himself, and glances sidelong at Taehyun, who is mumbling something about having to file the complaint and thankfully isn't paying as close attention to Kenta as before.

To his dismay, Sanggyun just laughs again, an annoyingly bright sound.

"So you _do_ talk back," He says lightly, and Kenta is more than a little pissed off that he doesn't even sound fazed by the Angry Voice at all. "Spicy." _Oh my God._

Kenta presses his lips into a tight line, counting to ten in his head.

He doesn't think he's been this angry (or embarrassed? both?) on the phone before in his life. Luckily for him, Sanggyun speaks up again before Kenta gets the chance to respond.

"Okay, so if I can't get a refund, are you gonna bring me a remake or something? And I mean like, _you,_ not that old guy again, because y'know... I've been deprived of cuteness lately. I need to look at someone refreshing for a couple minutes just to quench my thirst."

Who even _is_ this guy?

Kenta mumbles a little "but I can't drive" before he clears his throat and continues in a stronger voice, "We only have one driver."

"Then he could bring you with him this time," the customer suggests smugly — _taunting_ him. Kenta opens his mouth to decline, but is interrupted by a line that makes his jaw drop open. "Hmm, bet you would taste better than this pizza."

Kenta wants to throw himself into the fryer.

He grips the phone a little tighter. He can feel Taehyun's eyes on him again as he leans forward a little, speaking in a more rushed, but slightly shaking voice as he can feel himself growing more and more flustered. "Look. Is this a prank? You're just messing with me, right?  It's not funny! I have work to do. I'll call the cops. My- My boss is here and he said I could!" The angry voice is wavering, his embarrassment painfully obvious. Despite the awkwardness of the conversation, Kenta feels his face burning.

"Nah, it's cool. I'm done calling in."

 _Thank goodness._ "Okay," and then, thinking quickly as the relief of not having to deal with this idiot again starts to settle in, he adds his usual send-off at the end, his lighter tone coming back to him: "Sorry about the trouble. Have a nice day— um, I mean night. Have a nice night—"

"Hey, wait, don't hang up yet—" _What do you want now?_ "Tell your manager I'll just come in tomorrow, okay?"

" _Oh no please don't,_ " he says in dismay; he doesn't mean to say it out loud, but it slips out anyway as Kenta pinches the bridge of his nose.

Kim Sanggyun, the Most Annoying Customer on Earth, somehow has a voice that communicates a big smile through the phone as he laughs again, and for a second it's almost, _almost_ endearing.

"See you tomorrow, Kenta!"

The line clicks and goes dead. With the phone still at his ear, Kenta isn't sure whether he's burning in anger or something else.

 

* * *

 

Donghan isn't taking this seriously enough, sipping loudly from his Sprite as he lets Kenta rant about his problems.

"So let me get this straight," he says, "You want me to take your shift tomorrow _just_ because that customer is coming in?" He slurps again. "I'm gonna keep it real with you hyung, I'm not covering you just because you're a wimp."

"No," Kenta replies defensively. He pauses. "Okay, yes. But listen, he's really frustrating! Did I tell you why he complained in the first place?"

"You did. Four times now."

Oh. "Well I mean- what if he's a stalker? He hit on me like three times total!" He pauses. "Or maybe only two, it's not like I was keeping count—"

Donghan just shrugs, voice completely devoid of sympathy as he offers a "call the police" and Kenta wants to cross his arms and pull out the Angry Voice again but after dealing with Sanggyun, he worries that that's not working as well as he thought it was.

"He could've just been bluffing, hyung. I doubt he's really coming in. It sounds like he was just bored and decided to mess with you because making you mad is funny," Donghan shrugs, speaking through a mouthful of cheesy bread. Kenta doesn't know if the latter statement is meant to be from Sanggyun's perspective, or if Donghan is taking a dig at him but he supposes it could go either way.

Kenta huffs a little. He probably _was_ just messing around, or at least trying to scare him into sending him free pizza... but the idea doesn't really sit right with him. If he was really trying to play him for free stuff then why not continue pretending to be angry? What was the point of flirting with— no, flirting _at_ him, and laughing as if Kenta's anger meant nothing? It's the strangest prank call experience Kenta has ever had. Maybe Donghan is right, and Sanggyun won't come in, but just the thought of having to deal with him in person makes Kenta want to quit.

"Anyways, I'm leaving," Donghan says, pushing himself back from the table as he picks up his bookbag. "Have fun with your date tomorrow!"

"What?" Kenta drops his fork on the table. "If that's your idea of a date, then I'm really worried about your relationships in the future-" Donghan just laughs, because people laughing at Kenta's problems seems to be a theme these days, and leaves the older employee to sit there and fume by himself.

 

* * *

 

When Kenta has closing shifts, he seems to have the best luck; he rarely gets a rush after dinnertime, which gives him a chance to get all of his work done with plenty of time to spare. Most of the staff, Taehyun included, head out right after dinner, leaving Kenta alone with whichever driver is there until close.

Tonight, before Taehyun leaves in the evening, Kenta makes sure to stop him and ask if any customers came into the store during the day to complain. Taehyun tells him that besides a lady who came in asking about a gift certificate, they haven't had any complaints; so Kenta lets out a long exhale and gets back to his work.

A few hours go by, and it's ten o'clock PM, an hour before the restaurant closes. Kenta is sweeping the floor, humming along to a Teen Top song he has playing through his headphones. Mr Kwon, his driver, is taking a nap at Taehyun's desk while they wait for deliveries to come in.

The front door chimes, and Kenta, distracted by fantasies of himself co-starring in a Teen Top video as Ricky's lover, forgets that he was planning on being careful tonight. As he brushes his hands off on his apron, he greets the customer with his usual bright smile and a "How are you?"

From the door, the customer gives him a little two-fingered salute as a greeting, _okay, weird,_ and then comes forward. He's dressed in a dark hoodie and ripped jeans, with a baseball cap positioned over black hair and Kenta has an odd feeling that they've met before. Do they go to the same school? Or maybe he just feels weird because he's really attractive, when they don't often get handsome customers here?

Kenta's guard was down.

"Oh shit, you really _are_ cute." The voice is instantly recognizable. He snaps back to attention, and a chorus of 'oh no's plays in Kenta's head as his polite smile falls, replaced with an apprehensive look as the customer — no, as Kim Sanggyun Himself — looks at him and grins. His mouth opens slightly and then closes as he scrambles for what to say. _Be cool, Kenta,_ he tells himself sternly, _you're on the job. Stay professional._

"I'm guessing you're Sanggyun?"

The grin only gets wider and Kenta decides that he hates it. "Aw, you remember my voice, I'm glad-" Kenta bites back his _of course, I was stuck on the phone with you for ten minutes_ and instead offers him a half-hearted, closed-lips smile.

Kenta reaches forward to start typing nonsense on the computer, pretending to occupy himself with something so he doesn't have to look at him. Why does the most annoying customer on earth have to be the same person as this ridiculously attractive college-badboy looking dude leaning on the counter in front of him? Kenta is shy with hot people in the first place (it took him forever to be able to talk to his own boss, and just as long to get used to being around Donghan — not that Kenta would ever admit that he finds him hot, he doesn't need to give him more ammo to use against him.) Normally, he'd just avoid interacting with someone like him entirely for his own health and safety but since Sanggyun is _technically_ a paying customer, Kenta has no choice but to listen to him. If he can stay professional, then he can deal with this problem quickly and efficiently and then spend the next hour recuperating from the encounter.

"My boss isn't here, sorry," he says with eyes fixed to the computer monitor, trying to keep his voice light, polite. "You'll have to come back during the day."

" _Yeah,_ " Sanggyun replies, drawing out the word, "but you know I'm not here for your boss."

_Oh God._

Kenta takes the risk of peering over him. "So you're just here to bother me?" He's really trying not to sound rude, but it's getting _so hard_ to stay calm. It was bad enough over the phone when he didn't know what Sanggyun looks like, but now it's a thousand times worse. Kenta can already feel his ears burning.

Sanggyun pouts his lips out slightly and Kenta hates himself for noticing. He rests his chin on his hands, elbows on the counter. "Am I really bothering you? You don't look very busy."

Kenta glances at the clock. 10:02 PM. He's never prayed so hard for a rush before.

He sighs quietly, stepping to the side, away from his computer. He crosses his arms to make himself look serious but he just ends up standing there looking awkward. He wishes, not for the first time tonight, that Donghan hadn't been a giant dick and just taken this shift instead, because _he_ would've known what to do to get rid of Sanggyun — or, alternatively, he'd flirt back...

That thought makes Kenta feel a little weird. Would Sanggyun flirt with Donghan as well as him? Or is it exclusive just to Kenta? Probably not. Kenta is shy and awkward and not even that good at Korean and given the choice between _him_ and the smooth-talking, tall, seductive Donghan, Sanggyun would probably be much happier to talk to the younger employee instead.

"So do you want free pizza or something? I'll make you one if you leave," he says, his tone more pleading than abrasive.

Sanggyun doesn't respond at first, and for a sliver of a second Kenta thinks he sees some kind of sad look in his eyes. But when Kenta blinks in confusion, it's gone, and Sanggyun is back to smirking. "Free pizza would be awesome, but nah, I just ate. I'm just here to see you," he says simply, Just Like That, and then that sharp grin is back on his face again. Kenta feels something weird stirring in his chest. "Your reactions are really funny. It's more fun to mess with you in person."

How can he say that so shamelessly? Kenta feels like squirming under his gaze, equal parts annoyed and flustered and overwhelmed. "Um, okay, I guess," he says. "We're almost closed and I do have work to do, though, so..."

Sanggyun shrugs, stepping back from the counter and letting his arms drop to his sides. "Yeah, yeah, I'll go. You've got my number saved in the system there, right?"

Kenta makes a confused expression, but he answers honestly anyway: "Yes?"

"Good. That's my cell phone. Text me," Kenta's jaw drops again, because _the audacity,_ and he tries to figure out something to say as Sanggyun gives him some dumb finger-guns and then turns around.

Right before he walks out, Kenta calls out to him. "I'm not going to text you!"

Sanggyun's laugh mingles with the chime of the door as he pushes it open, and then he's gone.

 

* * *

 

"Okay but you didn't tell me this guy was _hot,_ " Donghan is trying his best to defend himself, mixing the bowls for three large pizzas as Kenta stands across from him with his hands on his hips, giving him his best Angry Supervisor Look. It's about as effective as the Angry Voice (which is not at all.) "That changes everything!" 

Less than 24 hours after meeting Sanggyun in person for the first time, Kenta is trying to reprimand Donghan for not taking his shift and sparing him from the awkwardness that was last night's encounter, but Donghan, as usual, doesn't really care.

"How was I supposed to know that when I only heard his voice? And I didn't say I thought he was _hot,_ I just said— _"_

"Your whole face is red, dude, I can tell." God damn Kenta's stupid face for burning up at every little thing. He didn't even realize he was actually blushing until Donghan pointed it out, but now that it's been brought up, it's all over; it's going to get worse because that's how it works when everything makes you flustered.

Kenta rubs at his burning face a little, as if that would help. "No it's not," he mumbles, and Donghan just smirks at him over his shoulder.

The younger cook pushes two pizzas into the oven and starts on the next ones, working at lightning speed, as usual. He's a troublemaker sometimes, and getting him to do the cleaning at night is like pulling teeth; but when it comes to making (and eating) the food, Donghan cannot be outmatched. This fact, and Taehyun's love-hate type of fondness for him are the only reasons he hasn't been fired yet, or so Kenta suspects. He's pretty sure that the nineteen year-old knows this too, and recognizes his own value enough to just ignore Kenta when he tries to get him to do anything because he knows that Taehyun won't get him in trouble even if Kenta tattles on him. Kenta has to ask himself several times a night who is the real supervisor when he and Donghan work on a closing shift together.

"Okay, well," Kenta adds after a moment. "I wish you were there with me at least. I didn't know what to do, I've never been in this situation before!" He remembers how smoothly Sanggyun spoke compared to his own halting, tongue-tied responses, and Kenta groans a little. "I was so awkward..."

With his board cleared, Donghan hops up to sit on the counter despite Kenta telling him about a thousand times a night that he's not allowed to do that because 1) it's gross and 2) he's tall and bulky enough that the counter might bend or just break someday. "Are you trying to say you've _never_ had a guy crush on you before? That sounds like bullshit, hyung." The younger boy pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through his apps, another thing Kenta is supposed to get him not to do but Kenta has given up on trying. "Unless you're just _that_ blind, which like, okay, you definitely are sometimes, but—" 

Kenta looks confused. "What do you mean?"

Donghan looks up from his phone again finally, giving Kenta a _look_ but his indignance is written all over his face and Donghan just sighs. "Never mind. Look," he gets off the counter, heading to the other side of the oven to pull out the order. Kenta walks around to Donghan's side of the oven so he can hear him. His hands aren't on his hips anymore, instead holding his stomach with his arms. "So first he's flirting with you, then he's going out of his way to see you just to flirt with you some more, and then on top of that he asks you to text him? Obviously, he just likes you," There's a tight feeling in Kenta's chest. He's really _not_ used to this. "If he's hot then why not just text him back?" He turns away, getting the pizza ready to be cut. "Or let _me_ text him for you."

Whoop, there it is. Kenta feels a twinge of _something_ at the thought of Sanggyun paying attention to Donghan instead, though he doesn't understand what it is or why he's feeling it because what Sanggyun is up to means nothing to him, obviously, but still. 

Donghan seems to think that this isn't the first time someone's shown this much interest in Kenta, and maybe it's not but it's the first time someone has been so upfront about it, but though it makes him flustered Kenta can't say he actually hates the attention that much. If Donghan is right, and it's a _crush_ then it's more than a little flattering that someone so, for lack of a better word, seemingly _cool_ like Sanggyun has directed it at Kenta, even if they don't know each other at all.

While Donghan finishes boxing up the order, Kenta wanders back to the computer at the front. He scrolls through the customers' orders from two nights before and sure enough, there it is: "KIM SANGGYUN." His order is there, as well as his address and his phone number, and the little winky face too. Kenta chews on his lower lip, and, glancing back to make sure Donghan isn't watching, pulls out his own phone. He creates a contact: just 'Kim Sanggyun' and adds the number. His thumb hovers over _Send a Message_ until Donghan comes up beside him with pizza boxes and Kenta jumps, stuffing his phone back into his pocket and forgetting about the number for now.

The rest of the night is uneventful. After threatening to whack Donghan on the head with a broom he finally convinces his coworker to help him with the chores, and they manage to get out earlier than usual. They say goodbye to Mr Kwon, and Donghan tells him to bring his grandson, Hyunbin, with him when Donghan works alone on the weekend (Kenta pretends not to notice this, because they're definitely not supposed to have non-employees visiting them in the back, but he knows the driver and Donghan team up all the time to bring him in. Donghan says Hyunbin helps him out with the cleaning, but Kenta suspects that he's just there to drive him to parties afterward.)

They head out into the night, walking towards the bus stop. A cold wind blows past and Kenta shudders, drawing his arms closer as he hugs himself. Donghan doesn't seem to mind it, but Kenta is always complaining about the cold; often, whenever they head on the bus together Kenta convinces him to stop at the coffee shop on the corner because they're always open late and Kenta almost always craves sweets at this time of night. "I want hot chocolate." All he gets in response is an exaggerated eyeroll but they both adjust their path toward the coffee shop anyway.

As they walk, Kenta mulls over their conversation from earlier. Donghan has moved on far beyond the Sanggyun Crisis and now he's talking about the party he and Hyunbin went to the night before, but Kenta tuned him out after he started talking about dancing on the table because honestly he doesn't really _want_ to know what happened after that. Besides which, Kenta is too busy coming up with conspiracy theories about the _crush_ thing, wondering why on earth Kim Sanggyun would end up with a crush on him after _just_ hearing his voice and seeing him for a total of thirty seconds. And why he sent the instructions for a cute driver in the first place, which, in hindsight, seems almost like a set-up for a reason to hit on Kenta over the phone... Did he already know who Kenta was? Was he a customer before and Kenta just forgot? He's bad with faces sometimes. And names, for that matter.

Did Sanggyun know Kenta worked there before placing the order? 

"Hellooo, are you listening? We're here," Donghan is waving a hand in front of his face. "Did you miss my whole story?"

"Sorry," Kenta mumbles, pushing the door open. Donghan huffs, but Kenta knows he's just going to tell him the whole thing again on the bus anyway.

Kenta and Donghan stomp their boots on the snow mat and Kenta looks at the front counter — as usual, it's empty at first because there's always only one barista working at this time. Kenta figures he's probably in the back getting ready to close. He walks up to the counter and calls out a "Hello, it's us again!" hoping to greet the polite barista who usually serves them late at night.

Kenta can't tell whether his heart jumps in fear or with something else when someone pokes his head out from the back room and it's very clearly _not_ the nice, quiet barista that they're used to. "Oh no," he whispers, again, as Kim Sanggyun comes up to the counter.

Of course Sanggyun works here. _Of course._

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in," He says, intentionally sounding like a cheesy supervillain or something and Kenta can't help a small smile before he wipes it off his face again. He's definitely never seen him here before, so maybe he's a new hire or something but it _would_ explain why he could just drop in on the store so casually. He didn't really go out of his way after all. 

Kenta parts his lips to tell Sanggyun that he's _just here to order_ and doesn't have time to fool around but he's left confused when he sees that Sanggyun's eyes are locked with Donghan's instead of his. Kenta's gaze slides from Sanggyun to Donghan and back again, and he blinks several times at the way Donghan tilts his head, squints and says "huh."

Kenta is completely lost. He has no idea why there's suddenly sparks coming from Donghan's eyes and why Sanggyun looks actually _nervous_ for once, but they clearly know each other. Kenta clears his throat, feeling like he's missing something big. "This is the, um, customer I mentioned...?" he says, and Donghan doesn't look surprised at all.

The younger cook makes a gesture between Kenta and Sanggyun and speaks slowly, with a "aren't you..." when suddenly Sanggyun pipes up, cutting him off.

"Anyways! Are you ordering? It's good to see you, don't get me wrong, but I'm kind of closing soon. Wait, isn't that what you said to me the other night? How the turn tables..." he says lightheartedly, obviously still joking around though Kenta gets the impression that he's antsy under Donghan's gaze.

Kenta flushes slightly and just points up at the menu. "Just two tall hot chocolates, please."

Donghan is weirdly silent the whole time, still squinting at Sanggyun and Kenta feels incredibly awkward. Sanggyun seems like he's rushing, as if trying to get them out as soon as possible and Kenta can't help but wonder if it really has to do with the store closing soon or if it's because the tension in the air threatens to suffocate all three of them.

Sanggyun works quickly, but quietly; he still smiles as he hands both drinks to Kenta and offers a friendly little _see you later_ and another  _don't forget to text me_. Kenta mumbles a thank you, ignoring the texting comment and he and Donghan leave the cafe, the awkward atmosphere making Kenta's walk out of the store feel like a death march.

As soon as the door closes behind them, Kenta whirls around to face Donghan, and demands: "What's going on-?"

But at the same time, Donghan is speaking as well. "What was _that_ about-?"

Both boys halt. Wearing matching expressions of confusion, they stare at each other for a moment, and then Kenta waves his free hand around. "What? No, I'm asking first, okay — why did it get so weird in there? Why did he look like he knows you? Why did you have murder in your eyes?"

"What?" Donghan gives him a really weird expression, his brows drawing together. "Uh, okay, I'm confused. Also, that wasn't a 'murder' look, that was just me trying to figure out if I know his face or if I was just crazy-"

Kenta gasps, then one gloved finger points at Donghan in accusation. "You  _do_ know Kim Sanggyun! Why didn't you say so before?"

"I don't know his name, but I recognized the jawline." Donghan peers down at him, a strange look on his face. "Besides, you should know him better than I do."

Kenta blinks several times, then shakes his head. "What? I met him for the first time when he called in." He thinks Donghan is joking at first, because it's really hard to tell with Donghan; but he sees the younger man's brows come together and Kenta realizes he's confused, too. "What are you talking about?"

Donghan sips his drink, still looking at him weirdly. "He's the guy you kissed at Hyunbin's New Year's party."

Kenta almost spits hot chocolate everywhere.

" _What?_ " He says again, it feels like it's the thousandth time he's said the word in this conversation but he still says it because honestly  _what._  "What. What? No. I don't remember kissing anybody!" Let alone Kim Sanggyun, the annoying customer that he just met. Donghan _must_ be joking, Kenta reasons, but the look on his face is more suspicious now than amused.

"Hyung, you were _not_ that wasted, there's no way." Donghan sips again. But apparently he _was_ that wasted, because Kenta isn't lying — he has literally no recollection of that party after Hyunbin and Donghan teamed up on him, gave him a shot of tequila in each hand and pushed him out onto the makeshift 'dance floor'.  "You really don't remember anything? I would've brought it up sooner if I didn't think you knew,"

"No way," Kenta says, shaking his head. "No way, no way, no way."

It's too much to process. He's trying to tell him that Sanggyun acts so weird around him because he _knows_ him? Because they _kissed?_

Kenta hates that everything actually makes sense as soon as he hears it. He hates everything about this.

(Except for maybe the thought of himself kissing Sanggyun, which admittedly isn't so bad.)

"Both me and Taehyun saw you," Donghan is saying, turning to continue their walk. After a second, Kenta follows after him, though he drags slightly behind as he tries to wrap his head around it. "And Hyunbin too, actually. Oh my God, I can't believe you forgot about the only wild Kenta moment of 2017!" He pauses. "Wait, no, it was 2018 technically..."

"Did anything else happen?" Kenta asks weakly, his mind reeling.He screws his face up as he tries to recall the rest of the night, but he remembers nothing besides waking up in his own bed the next morning, buried beneath three covers with his phone charging beside him and a series of illegible texts to their group chat.

"Yeah," Donghan says, the mischievous grin growing on his face skyrocketing Kenta's stress levels. _Never mind nope don't tell me anything do not do not do not,_ he wants to say, but it's too late. "Hyung, you totally took him home with you."

Kenta _does_ spit out his chocolate this time, spraying it all over Donghan's jacket.

 

* * *

 

 **P I Z Z A  S L A V E S**  (Group Conversation, created 42w ago by: **Donghan** )

> [00:03]   **Kenta** ☆:  Taehyun hyung are you still awake??????
> 
> [00:03] **Kenta** ☆:  It's important TTTTT
> 
> [00:04]   **Kenta** ☆:  Helloo??
> 
> [00:03]   **Kenta** ☆:  Hyung!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> [00:05]   **Kenta** ☆:  I'll keep spamming until both of you wake up
> 
> [00:05]   **Kenta** ☆:  OMG I can see you both leaving me on read 凸(≡д≡)
> 
> [00:07]   **noh taehyun** :  oh my god what do u want. did you two burn the store down or something??
> 
> [00:07]   **Kenta** ☆:  No
> 
> [00:08]   **noh taehyun** :  oh ok good then i'm going back to bed
> 
> [00:08]   **Kenta** ☆:  Don't TT I have to ask you about something. Pleeease it's life or death TTTT
> 
> [00:08]   **noh taehyun** :  ..... make it quick
> 
> [00:08]   **Kenta** ☆:  Remember that New Year's Eve party?
> 
> [00:09]   **noh taehyun** :  the one that made me have to close the store early because some fucker didn't show up to his closing shift? how could i forget!
> 
> [00:10]   **Donghan** :  lol  
> 
> [00:10]   **Donghan** :  Couldn't have been that mad if u ended up at the party 
> 
> [00:10]   **noh taehyun** :  i only showed up with the intention to beat your lazy ass.
> 
> [00:10]   **donghan** :  But you didn't, so :)
> 
> [00:10]   **noh taehyun** :  don't smiley face at me, you're still in trouble
> 
> [00:10]   **Donghan** :  :D
> 
> [00:11]   **Kenta** ☆:  Oh good! Donghan is here, now I can interrogate both of you at once
> 
> [00:12]   **Donghan** :  yea I'm still up cleaning chocolate off my jacket. if it's stained then you owe me a new one
> 
> [00:12]   **Kenta** ☆:  ... sorry ^^;
> 
> [00:13]   **noh taehyun** :  ?????
> 
> [00:13]   **Donghan** :  Kenta hyung found out some bad news today. actually no. it's pretty good news
> 
> [00:13]   **Kenta** ☆:  It's not any kind of news if it's not true!!!
> 
> [00:14]   **Donghan** :  LOL
> 
> [00:14]   **noh taehyun** :  ?? so what is it, hurry up i'm tired
> 
> [00:15]   **Kenta** ☆:  Okay so first: is it or is it not true that I kissed a random guy at that party...?
> 
> [00:16]   **noh taehyun** :  uhh, yeah
> 
> [00:17]   **Kenta** ☆:  oh no

Kenta's thumbs hover over the keyboard as he stares at the little groupchat screen, at Taehyun's confirmation, and his stomach twists. Kenta lifts his gaze from his phone and stares into the distance, feeling his face heat up. Donghan saying it is one thing — Taehyun confirming it is another. Unless it's a tag-team effort to trick him, this is pretty much proof that what Donghan said is true, and that means... 

_Oh no,_ he repeats in his head.

> [00:19]   **noh taehyun** :  hello??? is that it?
> 
> [00:19]   **Donghan** :  I think he was hoping for a 'no' right off the bat so u shocked him lol
> 
> [00:19]   **Donghan** :  I told him about that guy already, but he thinks i'm lying
> 
> [00:19]   **Donghan** :  There's no trust in this family...... TT
> 
> [00:20]   **Kenta** ☆:  You said the other day that tricking me is "like stealing candy from a baby" and that your only joy in life is to see me suffer
> 
> [00:21]   **Donghan** :  I would never!
> 
> [00:21]   **Kenta** ☆:   _SCREENSHOT_576.jpg_
> 
> [00:22]   **Donghan** :  okay maybe i would
> 
> [00:22]   **Donghan** :  Anyway, are u going to ask him about the other thing too or does this give u enough evidence to believe me?

Actually, Kenta has been typing and deleting the message for the past two minutes. He very much _would_ like to ask about the thing but he keeps chickening out because he doesn't know if he really wants the answer.

> [00:23]   **noh taehyun** :  what other thing?
> 
> [00:23]   **noh taehyun** :  it's been like 20 minutes guys. get it out already
> 
> [00:24]   **Kenta** ☆:  The guy that I kissed (who I don't know by the way!!!) ... did you see me do anything else with him?
> 
> [00:24]   **noh taehyun** :  as in??
> 
> [00:24]   **Kenta** ☆:  As in... like... you know...
> 
> [00:24] **Kenta** ☆:  going home with him or something?
> 
> [00:26]   **noh taehyun** :  lol yea

Kenta swears out loud, putting his phone down just to bring his hands to his face.

Kenta might be oblivious sometimes, but he's far from innocent. He knows _exactly_ what it means when you kiss someone at a party and then leave with them and though he's never quite done it that way himself, he's heard enough stories (mostly from Donghan) to know how that particular path plays out. And it's not like he hasn't kissed boys before, it's just the first time he's ever done that kind of thing at a _party,_ let alone when he's blackout drunk and can't remember anything afterward. He can't remember if he embarrassed himself, if the kiss was even good... or what, exactly, happened after they went home. He can only make assumptions based on bits and pieces of eyewitnesses but that will never give him a clear picture of that night.

 _I could just ask him,_ he thinks, but immediately shuts down that thought because does he really want to face that kind of embarrassment? Besides which, he's been stubbornly avoiding talking to him and that meeting in the coffee shop tonight was already awkward enough _before_ Kenta knew about this... connection. _Oh God._ No wonder he's been bothering Kenta at work... his endless flirting makes a lot of sense now. At least two of his conspiracy theories were almost right. Kenta can feel his face heating up again.

Does Sanggyun remember everything? Does he know that Kenta has forgotten, or does he think Kenta is just giving him mixed signals? 

> [00:25] **Kenta** ☆:  Thanks for making sure I knew all this when I woke up that day guys TT ...really appreciate it... TT
> 
> [00:26]   **noh taehyun** :  i texted you to make sure you got home and you sent back a jumble of heart emojis and something in japanese and then "i'm snug like a bug in a rug" so i assumed you were okay. i also didn't think you were that drunk lol didn't you have like 3 shots?
> 
> [00:26]   **Kenta** ☆:  Four
> 
> [00:27]   **Kenta** ☆:  And yes I woke up in my own bed and everything (alone!!!) but I couldn't remember anything from the party past when I started dancing to Miss A
> 
> [00:27]   **Donghan** :  Dude... u had only had like two of ur drinks by then... u had the other two when u were done dancing lmao
> 
> [00:28]   **Kenta** ☆:  -_-;;
> 
> [00:28]   **noh taehyun:**  why is this coming up now? the guy was cute so what's the problem
> 
> [00:28]   **noh taehyun:**  there's no need to be embarrassed.
> 
> [00:29]   **Donghan** :  He's not. It's just because of who it is  
>    
>  [00:29]   **Donghan** : We saw him today and I recognized his face. he works at the coffee shop around the corner, and want to know the the plot twist?
> 
> [00:29]   **Donghan** :  it was Kenta hyung's worst enemy... wait for it.....
> 
> [00:29]   **Donghan:**  that customer from the other night who was bugging him  
>    
>  [00:29]   **Donghan** : ~drama~
> 
> [00:30]   **noh taehyun:**   fuck REALLY??
> 
> [00:30]   **noh taehyun:**  oh my god... sorry kenta but i'm laughing, holy shit 
> 
> [00:31]   **Donghan** :  It's kinda spicy tho if u think about it, like... damn... lucky
> 
> [00:32]   **Kenta** ☆:  'Spicy'? Why is everyone saying that all of a sudden??
> 
> [00:33]   **Donghan** :  'Everyone'?
> 
> [00:33]   **Donghan** :  Anyway, just own it hyung - u hooked up with a hot guy and he obviously still likes u. u got a clinger. happens to me all the time.
> 
> [00:33]   **noh taehyun:**  As If
> 
> [00:33]   **Donghan** :  my advice: u can try to ghost him or u can just roll with it
> 
> [00:34]   **Kenta** ☆:  Oh my god please don't say "hooked up"... nothing is confirmed, okay?
> 
> [00:34]   **Donghan** :  Why else would he be so thirsty???
> 
> [00:34]   **Donghan** :  face it, hyung: Dick was Too Bomb
> 
> [00:35]   **noh taehyun:**  rip 
> 
> [00:35]   **Kenta** ☆:  WHAT???
> 
> [00:36]   **Kenta** ☆: ... I'm quitting. 
> 
> [00:37]   **noh taehyun:**  ok! see you at work tomorrow, you start at four. <3
> 
> [00:37]   **Donghan** :  Night hyung, remember we love you :) <3<3<3
> 
> [00:38]   **Kenta** ☆: ):<  
>    
>  [00:39]   **Kenta** ☆: Goodnight... 

 

* * *

 

For the next two days, Kenta doesn't hear or see anything about Kim Sanggyun besides Donghan's teasing at work here and there, and though he didn't consciously make the decision consciously he does end up more on Donghan's 'ghost him' route. Every once in a while, he takes out his phone and hovers over Sanggyun's number but each time, he ends up wimping out and putting his phone back in his pocket because he can't think of what to say.

He thinks a lot about him, though, despite everything; especially when he's at work, or at home alone staring at the ceiling, or on the bus, or when he's speedwalking past that cafe with his hat pulled down to hide his face. Somehow, he went from being annoyed at the thought of Sanggyun to feeling confused, embarrassed, and more than a little intrigued. Sanggyun's laughter, his smirks, the intense sort of way he looked at him - it all replays in his mind over and over as he tries to analyze everything, tries to figure out Kim Sanggyun and his intentions and fails to come up with anything except more questions.

It's like something out of a shitty comedy movie. Isn't this the plot of The Hangover or something? As far as Kenta can remember, he woke up the next day in his own bed with no one beside him, no indication whatsoever that someone was there but if it's true that he left the party with Sanggyun, doesn't that imply that _something_ must've happened? Especially since they were seen kissing at the party, too. Donghan witnessed enough of it that he was able to recognize Sanggyun's face immediately and make the whole atmosphere feel awkward. How many other people saw them together?

The thought is embarrassing, not because he would have anything against messing around with Sanggyun specifically but the idea that he knows nothing while Sanggyun probably knows everything makes him nervous. He would know the extent of what they did. He would know if it was good or not. He would know what other drunken impulsive things Kenta might've done or said and maybe knowing the truth would give Kenta some peace of mind so he can at least stop  _worrying_ about it so much.

He can't just ask, can he? It would be soul-crushingly awkward to have to listen to a recount of the whole night if Sanggyun told him and Kenta still isn't positive that he's going to like the answers to his questions anyway. 

But  _would_ Sanggyun tell him the truth if Kenta wanted it? He could always make something up. Kenta knows nothing about him, there's no indication that he should trust anything he says. Maybe he just has a cruel sense of humour, making Kenta believe something happened when it didn't — only so he can laugh. Maybe he's friends with Donghan and Taehyun and they've set up this elaborate prank just to embarrass him and teach him a lesson about drinking too much at random parties. He loves his friends, but he wouldn't put it past them to want to scare him for a few days. 

Even with all of these theories, Kenta's mind keeps going straight to the one where Donghan and Taehyun are telling the truth. What Donghan said earlier pops back into his mind: _why else would he be so into you_ ? And it's true that Kenta has felt weirdly intimate vibes coming off of Sanggyun even from when he first heard his voice. Kenta doesn't really want to know _what_ exactly he did that night for Sanggyun to want his attention so bad — or does he? In any case, his mind tries to come up with various scenarios and even though he pushes some of them away, he can't deny that some of them are... what's the word they used? Spicy? 

_Maybe he really does like me,_ Kenta finally decides, and a bit of hope sparks in his chest, sending his heart into a frenzy. He bites back a smile, rolls over and daydreams some more until he finally falls asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS REALLY IS OOC I KNOW if you happened to like it anyway, stay tuned for more cute!sanggyun (and spicy!sanggyun????) in the next bit!! this'll hopefully only be two or three chapters, i just wanted to break it up because even this first part has So many words already @_@
> 
> find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/takadatv) for updates on this & the other things i'm working on, or just to talk about jbj bc i'll love u forever!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is what i like to call the _spangst_ chapter ((spicy  & angst))
> 
> it took me forever i'm SORRY but here it is!! ta-daaa
> 
> shout-out to ru, erin and toby who helped me brainstorm and edit this, respectively! i love u guys! (forever shoutout to nik, too, for inspiring this whole ship & au in the first place.. i love u)
> 
> this chapter is definitely rated M so keep that in mind before u start!!

_ "Can I ask you for a favour? Even though we just met?" _

_ "Shoot." _

_ "Will you be my New Year's kiss?" _

 

* * *

  
The dream came to him slowly at first, but then it hit him fast — what started as just an echo of voices in his head spiraled into a flurry of memories that left him gasping, awakening with flushed cheeks and white sheets grasped in both fists.

The first half of the dream was clear enough: he saw that New Year's party, the same people surrounding him as they were on that night before his memory became blurry — everything felt familiar until a certain dark-haired man came into focus. A mischievous smile playing on too-red lips and a dangerous gaze made him recognizable to Kenta now as Kim Sanggyun, though dream-Kenta still thought him a stranger.

It was a movie playing out from a first-person perspective, as he could watch but not control it; Kenta heard himself asking Sanggyun for a kiss, then registered the crowd around them counting down to midnight. The party erupted with noise as Kenta saw Sanggyun leaning towards him, and a second later, felt warm lips on his.

He watched himself caress the side of Sanggyun's face with one hand, and then the vision changed.

The rest was shown to him in blurry, messy bits and pieces. One second, he was walking towards a red car with a warm hand in his and the next, he was in his room. 

He heard whispers here, his own sighs there; felt the weight of someone on top of him. The last thing he felt was the warmth of lips on his neck — 

When he jolts himself awake, the feeling lingers.

His eyelids snapping open, Kenta fixes his gaze on the spot of light coming from a street lamp shining on his ceiling, his chest rising and falling. As flashes of his dream replay on loop in his mind, Kenta brings both hands to his face, smothering himself as he groans softly. His heart drums fast in his ears, loud enough to drown out the sound of the cars flying by below his window.

 

* * *

  
  


> **[02:15] Donghan:** Okay WOAH stop stop stop
> 
> **[02:15] Donghan:** Explain it to me again, but... less emojis, more words?
> 
> **[02:16] Kenta ☆:** I just!! I really!! It!!!!!!
> 
> **[02:17] Donghan:** Keep going
> 
> **[02:17] Donghan:** u can do it
> 
> **[02:18] Kenta ☆:** AAHHHHH
> 
> **[02:18] Kenta ☆:** f &%k!!!!!!!!!
> 
> **[02:19] Donghan:** did u just
> 
> **[02:19] Donghan:** censor ‘fuck’
> 
> **[02:19] Donghan:** God, I love u hyung
> 
> **[02:17] Kenta ☆:**  !! The thing!!
> 
> **[02:17] Kenta ☆:** The kiss!
> 
> **[02:17] Kenta ☆:** You know.. Sanggyun.....
> 
> **[02:18] Donghan:** oh??
> 
> **[02:18] Donghan:** What about him? u established that it happened already right lmao
> 
> **[02:19] Kenta ☆:** No, I mean... I had a dream
> 
> **[02:19] Kenta ☆:** I think I remember what happened...
> 
> **[02:20] Donghan:** o h
> 
> **[02:20] Donghan:** ohhhhhhhhhh
> 
> **[02:20] Donghan:** well shit hyung, congrats
> 
> **[02:21] Kenta ☆:** Thank you?.. I think
> 
> **[02:21] Donghan:** do I get details now or what????

 

Donghan's message comes with several eye emojis attached, and Kenta wrinkles his nose.

His eyes are still a bit bleary, as it's been about twenty minutes since waking up from The Dream and he's about ready to go back to sleep again, but once he saw that Donghan was online he couldn't help but spam him with the news.

Kenta is exhausted, but he's a little bit afraid of falling back asleep again — whenever he closes his eyes, he sees  _ that smirk _ and his heart jumps again... who knows what else he'd see when he's actually sleeping? (He's worried, but at the same time excited; part of him is dying to know, longing to be dragged back into that scene. The other part of him is fifty different shades of embarrassed.)

 

> **[02:22] Kenta ☆:** No.
> 
> **[02:23] Donghan:** aw :(
> 
> **[02:23] Donghan:** What was the point of telling me then :/
> 
> **[02:24] Kenta ☆:** Why do you want to know?? pervert 
> 
> **[02:25] Donghan:** lol.. yeah
> 
> **[02:25] Donghan:** Come on, at least tell me if it was good

 

Kenta bites the inside of his cheek, unsure of how he should answer. He knows the truth: yes, it was good, _definitely_ good as far as he can remember. But giving Donghan too much detail is giving him weaponry, heavy ammunition to use against Kenta's easily-destroyed shield protecting him from endless shame and humiliation.

Not that Donghan doesn't have enough of that already. He knows from experience that normally, one eyebrow raise, one word is enough to send Kenta into a flustered state of panic especially when it comes to boys he likes: exhibit A, Kim Sanggyun.

(It's a little weird to admit that he  _ likes _ him, but he can't really deny it at this point, can he? Not after tonight.)

>  
> 
> **[02:26] Kenta ☆:** well it wasn't /bad/
> 
> **[02:26] Kenta ☆:** That's all I'm saying
> 
> **[02:27] Donghan:** ....
> 
> **[02:27] Donghan:** You need to tell him
> 
> **[02:28] Kenta ☆:** Why? It's embarrassing
> 
> **[02:28] Kenta ☆:** didn't you say I should ghost him?? Stop giving me mixed-up advice, you’re so confusing...
> 
> **[02:29] Donghan:** I just said that was an option lol. the /bad/ option tbh, considering u have some hot guy who wants u that u obviously had a good time with? 
> 
> **[02:30] Kenta ☆:** Well how would you bring it up??
> 
> **[02:31] Donghan:** I mean
> 
> **[02:31] Donghan:** actions speak louder than words, so..............
> 
> **[02:32] Kenta ☆:** OMG
> 
> **[02:31] Donghan:** I'm just saying…….
> 
> **[02:32] Kenta ☆:** NO!!! whatever you're thinking, NO
> 
> **[02:32] Donghan:** wimp
> 
> **[02:33] Kenta ☆:** Don't make fun of me when I'm stressed, Donghan
> 
> **[02:33] Donghan:** you're always stressed hyung  
>    
>  **[02:33] Donghan:** What’re u so worried about?
> 
> **[02:33] Kenta ☆:** Just that he'll think I was pretending not to remember
> 
> **[02:33] Donghan:** Why would that matter?
> 
> **[02:33] Kenta ☆:** Wouldn't he think I'm a?? player??... a heartbreaker???
> 
> **[02:33] Kenta ☆:** OMG.. what if he already does...
> 
> **[02:33] Kenta ☆:** He definitely hates me now TT I should just keep pretending 
> 
> **[02:34] Donghan:** oh my god
> 
> **[02:34] Donghan:** HYUNG.
> 
> **[02:35] Donghan:** for the love of all things holy (or unholy i guess), just TALK to him PLEASE you're making me lose brain cells
> 
> **[02:35] Kenta ☆:** How!!
> 
> **[02:36] Donghan:** just text him 'hey'  
>    
>  **[02:36] Donghan:** or an eggplant emoji, that always works

 

With that, Kenta rolls over in bed with his phone still clutched in both hands, facing away from his wall. As Donghan's incoming message blinks at him, Kenta inhales and exhales in a long, nervous breath. He sets the phone down on his nightstand and closes his eyes, trying to force away the questionable images that immediately come back to mind.

_ I'll sleep on it, _ he thinks.  _ I can figure out what to do in the morning... _ or maybe after he's taken a very much-needed cold shower.

He tries to force himself into sleep, squeezing his eyes shut and everything. But not even two minutes later, he sits right up again, snatching up his phone without thinking.

There's only a half hesitation before he swipes open his messaging app, and scrolls to the contact saying  _ Kim Sanggyun _ that he saved at work the other night.

His heart immediately starts thumping, but he lets his thumbs fly before he has the chance to psych himself out of it.

> [ **SMS sent to:** Kim Sanggyun] hey

Kenta throws his phone across the room.

(Burying his face into his pillow, he eventually drifts off to sleep without fetching his phone. As he fades out of consciousness, at the back of his mind he can hear the three-note text tone coming from across the room, but he's too tired to think about it right away.)

 

* * *

  
  


He wakes up to fifteen(15) messages.

After scuffing in his socks across the carpet of his bedroom floor, he picks his phone up and rubs his eyes as he looks at his notifications: fourteen of them are from Donghan and Taehyun in their group chat, arguing about who stole Taehyun's red bull from out of the walk-in fridge (Kenta is pretty sure it was Grandpa Kwon, but he's not going to expose him like that) and the first two notifications, the ones that have been on his phone the longest are from exactly who Kenta is hoping to hear from.

> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun]  _ Message hidden ( 2 )  _

With his heart in his throat, he taps on his messaging app.

> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] heyyy :)
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] who is this? lol

Both messages were sent exactly at 2:45 AM, which Kenta figures must've been when he fell asleep. As he stares at his phone screen, a wave of embarrassment comes over him. _"Who is this?"_ _ Oh my god, he doesn't have my contact saved. _ Of course he doesn't. He had asked Kenta to text him first... Kenta can't believe his stupidity.

Kenta beats himself up for the next few minutes over it, though he continues with his morning routine — he can see the red of his cheeks in his bathroom mirror as he brushes his teeth, staring at himself.

_ So this is the person who kissed Kim Sanggyun at a party, _ he thinks, checking himself out in the mirror.  _ Who did more than that.  _ His pink hair - fading in colour, since it's already been a month after he dyed it - is messed up, slightly sticking up on one side. Kenta wets his hand in the sink and tries to pat it down, as he continues musing to himself.  _ This is the person Sanggyun likes... _ he can't help how easily his mind brings him back to that dream. Parts of it have already slipped away from him, but he easily remembers the important things — Sanggyun's smile, his lips, his hands, his voice—

"Stop it, seriously," Kenta mutters out loud, exasperated with himself. He casts his gaze away from the mirror and takes out his toothbrush, sheepishly continuing with his daily activities, trying to distract himself.

It's not until he's on the bus headed towards work that he finally decides to reply. It takes another few minutes to work up the courage to send the first text, but his thumbs pause over the keyboard as he contemplates another.

> [ **SMS sent to:** Kim Sanggyun] It's Kenta

He types up his second message. Sucking in a breath, he hits 'send' before he can talk himself out of it.

> **[SMS sent to:** Kim Sanggyun] ... from New Year's?

Immediately, he shoves his phone back into his jacket pocket. He regrets sending something so risky — although he can imagine Donghan being proud of him for it — by mentioning New Year's Eve, Kenta just revealed that he knows, at least on some level. His heart beats twice as fast as it should as he stares with determination out of the bus window.

Barely two minutes later, his phone buzzes in his pocket. Kenta takes his phone out so quickly that he almost sends it flying, catching it at the last second as a stranger in front of him stares at him with raised eyebrows. "Sorry," he mumbles, shooting an apologetic look through his eyelashes before looking down at his phone.

> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] oh
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] well hey, kenta from new year's
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] :)

_ Oh no oh no oh no oh no ohno — _ Kenta's nerves are screaming at him. It was only really a few hours ago that he was saying he was too scared to tell Sanggyun that he knows — but here he is, making it obvious. Sanggyun's reaction is nonchalant, yet that smiley-face seems almost  _ teasing _ now... which Kenta thinks is fairly in-character.

It takes him a whole ten minutes to figure out what to say next, but he manages a small reply:

> [ **SMS sent to:** Kim Sanggyun] How are you?

_ 'How are you?' _ How lame can he get?

Again, Sanggyun replies within a few minutes.

> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] better, now that you're finally texting me ;)
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] did u throw ur phone across the ocean first? lol

Even as he chews his lower lip, Kenta can't fight the half-smile pulling up at the corners of his mouth. He texts back an apology and a cute sticker and leaves it at that. He hops off the bus and heads into work, a few minutes late but nobody seems to care. He waves a little more cheerfully at Grandpa Kwon as he comes in, not sure why his chest feels lighter than normal.

 

* * *

 

 

Later, when Taehyun walks into the store, he plops a big yellow envelope on his desk, nearly startling Kenta into dropping his scoop of instant noodles.

"What's this?" Kenta asks, voice muffled as he looks (up, for once) at his boss. He glances at Taehyun cautiously, very aware that he could be kicked out of his chair at any second.

"Resumes."

Kenta blinks. "Are you firing somebody?" He gulps down his noodles, staring at Taehyun with big eyes. "Are you firing _me?"_ His mind traces back through everything Kenta has ever done in the store that could probably get him fired. It doesn't come up with much, except for maybe the fact that he lets Donghan get away with sitting on the counter. He's generally pretty good at following the rules, but that doesn't stop him from momentarily stressing out anyway.

Is he in trouble because of Sanggyun? He knew he should've been nicer on the phone—

"No! God, no, believe it or not you're actually useful around here — if I was firing any of the cooks, it'd be Donghan." Kenta feels just a tiny twinge of concern before Taehyun sighs and adds: "But I can't get rid of him. He's like a stain."

Kenta digs his chopsticks back into his cup noodles. "That's very kind of you."

He's pretty sure that even if Taehyun really wanted to let go of Donghan, he'd face some kind of immediate karmic retribution in the form of his best friend's wrath — or rather, his father's. Hyunbin's dad still technically owns Just be JoyFull, though he himself spends most of his time at his second restaurant, a more sophisticated place located in the wealthy part of the city. Donghan was hired by Hyunbin's dad, as a pre-teen — he's been working there for longer than Taehyun himself, and if it weren't for his aversion to responsibilities he'd probably have ended up the manager. So when Taehyun complains and threatens Donghan's job it really doesn't mean much.

Besides, it doesn't take a genius to know that Taehyun is too soft for him to do anything. Despite his smug attitude and tendency to ignore authority, Donghan is pretty hard not to love.

"I'm hiring a new driver," Taehyun says, shuffling through the papers on his desk. Kenta swallows his last bit of noodles and then stands up, politely offering the desk chair to his boss. Taehyun sits down, scooting the chair towards his computer as Kenta perches himself on the end of the desk.

_A new driver?_ They don't need more, do they? A horrible thought dawns on him. "Wait, is Grandpa Kwon okay?"

"Oh yeah, he's fine," replies Taehyun, and Kenta's posture relaxes. "I have to do something about your boyfriend's complaint, though."

Kenta splutters. "My _what?_ "

With impeccable timing, Donghan comes around the corner with one strap of his backpack slung over his shoulder. "'Sup nerds," he greets them fondly, before noticing the flustered expression on Kenta's face, the back of Taehyun's chair turned away, and the pile of papers on the desk sitting next to him. He raises his eyebrows. "Am I missing something?"

Taehyun swivels around in his chair. "We're hiring a new driver. You know how that Sanghoon guy complained about us not having cute drivers?"

"Sanggyun," Kenta coughs. Taehyun gives him a Look, then continues.

"Even though it was a prank, it's something I have to look into now, because-"

"Because Wanna Slice got a new driver," Donghan finishes.

Both Taehyun and Kenta stare at him for a moment, before Taehyun narrows his eyes.

"How do you know about the new driver at Wanna Slice?"

Kenta, who is well aware of Donghan's traitorous preference for the more expensive pizza down the road, says nothing.

"I have my sources."

Taehyun glares, sharply enough to make Donghan fess up: "What? Hyunbin makes me go there sometimes because he has a crush on one of the shift-coordinators." He shrugs, as Taehyun's mouth drops open in an expression of betrayal. "Yeah, he invites the whole crew to some of his parties, and the dude he likes is the one that never shows up. I keep telling him he doesn't look like a party person, he'd be better to send him flowers or something or even, hey! Talk to him! But apparently none of you cowards know how to talk to your crushes, apparently I'm the only one who—"

Kenta clears his throat. "Um, so what does that have to do with us?"

Taehyun shuts Donghan up with another Look (he has a lot of those) and turns back to Kenta. "So they got a new driver, right, and now their Yelp page is being loaded with comments about some super nice kid named Daniel." His voice is so flat that it almost sounds like growling — Kenta can imagine an anime-style angry vein popping out above his head. "And we've started to get reviews too. Some girl commented today, _'cheap pizza but there's no Daniel!'_ and left us one star. I'm gonna kill them."

"Have you talked to Sungwoon about it?" Donghan asks, referring to the manager of Wanna Slice — Taehyun's rival since they graduated from the same business management program a few years ago.

"Sungwoon can suck my dick."

Kenta and Donghan exchange a knowing glance.

Kenta thinks he sees steam coming out of Taehyun's ears as he opens his mouth, presumably to unleash a bunch of swear words before Kenta nicely interrupts: "We could use another closing driver anyway, Grandpa Kwon likes day shifts. He always falls asleep if we keep him past nine PM."

Taehyun shuts his mouth for a moment, and nods, going on for a little bit about how they're busier when it’s cold outside and their delivery times need to improve and blah-blah-blah. Kenta doesn't know what's more ridiculous: the fact that Taehyun is genuinely angry about a few comments left on their Yelp page, or that he's willing to hire a new driver just to go against their rival. He blinks, slowly, dropping a little "I see" that obviously doesn't sound genuine enough because Taehyun huffs and turns away.

Does this kind of thing really happen in real life? Kenta is growing more and more sure that his life is turning into a sitcom.

Donghan, who has been leafing through the resumes himself, glances up at them both. "Wait, so you're hiring somebody new... based on how _cute_ they are?" He sounds amused. "Is that legal?"

"Shut up," Taehyun replies, taking the stack of papers away from him. "I'm just... looking for people who might pander to our customers' demographic. So like... college students, recent grads, whatever."

"But," Donghan persists, the grin growing on his face. "You're still planning to hiring someone just to be _cute._ " Taehyun opens his mouth, but he closes it again, unable to deny it. Donghan claps his hands together. "God, I love this job."

"Alright, listen, before y-"

"Can I sit in on the interviews? Your taste is pretty terrible sometimes-"

" _Absolutely not._ "

"You know what? — I'm gonna do it anyway."

"Fuck you."

Kenta takes the opportunity to slip quietly off the desk and picks up his empty noodle cup to throw it in the trash, leaving the two to bicker in the corner as he wanders back through the kitchen.

So they'll have a new coworker soon, another young person. _A cute driver, huh,_ Kenta thinks, a hint of a smile tugging up on the corners of his lips as he imagines what Sanggyun's reaction would be if he were to tell him about the irony of his made-up complaint becoming real.

_ He'd probably laugh, _ he thinks dreamily, then mentally punches himself.

 

* * *

 

It takes a few hours of radio silence before Kenta commits the worst crime known to the modern generation: he sends a double text.

Does he seem desperate? Probably. But it doesn't get much worse than, say, phoning a fake complaint and then walking into the place just to flirt with one of the employees —

Even still, he worries about it; but that doesn't stop him from sending a text anyway, sneaking on his phone between chores when Donghan isn't looking.

> [ **SMS sent to:** Kim Sanggyun] So.. we're hiring a new driver
> 
> [ **SMS sent to:** Kim Sanggyun] Want to guess why?

What is wrong with him? He sounds so awkward — like he's trying too hard to sound familiar. The contrast between his dismissive behaviour regarding Sanggyun over the past week versus how he texts him now is too stark, too obvious even if Sanggyun replies to him as if everything is normal. If he's trying to keep pretending he doesn't know anything, Kenta is doing a pretty shitty job.

(He's always been too impulsive.)

Kenta takes out all of the garbage in the store and comes back to find that Sanggyun has already replied.

> [ **SMS sent from:** Kim Sanggyun] uhh... someone got fired?? idk
> 
> [ **SMS sent to:** Kim Sanggyun] No... but my boss is looking for a cute driver now

Kenta purses his lips as the 'Delivered' becomes 'Read' almost instantly.

> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] OMG.. really???
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] i thought u knew that i was just making that up to flirt with u
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] damn
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] guess i'll try harder to make it obvious next time ://

Despite the disappointed tone of his first messages, Sanggyun includes several smiling stickers. Kenta rolls his eyes at first, but he finds himself biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling too hard  _ again, _ for what must be the third time that day.

Somewhere in the back, Donghan is whistling the tune to a BTS song. At first, Kenta looks over at him with the intent of telling him everything about this conversation, but something stops him. For some reason, he wants to keep this part to himself… for now. 

> [ **SMS sent to:** Kim Sanggyun] I did know! you weren't very subtle haha
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] neither were u...
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] on new year's
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] :p

Kenta doesn't really understand what he's implying at all, but he's flushing anyway. He wonders if it has to do with that night... of course, his mind replays the scene again in his head without his permission, making his thumbs slip as he types his reply.

> [ **SMS sent to:** Kim Sanggyun] Um anwyas
> 
> [ **SMS sent to:** Kim Sanggyun] Anyways*
> 
> [ **SMS sent to:** Kim Sanggyun] Do you know Wanna Slice? They got a new driver, and apparently he's taking all of our business... my boss thinks it'll help to get a younger driver
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] oh, that daniel guy?
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] ya he's pretty cute, i ordered from there yesterday lmao

Kenta feels something unpleasant twist in his stomach. He wrinkles his nose, and before he can really think about it, sends the best emoji to describe his current feelings: a frowny face.

Sanggyun is amused, apparently - he replies with a cry-laughing emoji, and then:

> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] ooo, are u jealous?????
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] cute

He's suffering through cardiac arrest.

Kenta full-on flops himself down on Taehyun's desk chair, his heart going way too fast to be normal. Whether or not Donghan notices him nearly passing out, he doesn't say anything — and Kenta is thankful.

Talking to Sanggyun, even just over text, already feels comfortable. Of course, they've only met once (or twice, technically) before but that sense of having  _ known _ Sanggyun for longer than he should is there; Sanggyun replying so quickly, littering his words with dumb emojis and stickers, essentially making himself seem like a fool but it's somehow making him even more charming than before. Kenta is growing increasingly endeared to him as it goes on. It's hard to imagine that this is the same person Kenta wanted to smack just a couple weeks ago.

Gripping his phone tightly, Kenta stares burning holes into the screen as his thumb hovers over the hearts section of the emoji keyboard. Is it too risky?  _ Don't do it, Kenta, don't — _

He quickly shoots off a heart emoji, then squeezes his eyes shut. _Dammit._ His phone vibrates in his hand not ten seconds later, and he hesitates at first to check, but he peeks down through his eyelashes anyway.

Under his heart, there's an incoming emoji: Kenta doesn't know what it is at first. He blinks his eyes open, holding his phone closer and tilting it to try to figure it out, and then he sees it —

It's a chili pepper.

_ What. _ Why a chili pepper?

He blinks a couple times. It takes at least a minute for the realization to hit, but when it does, Kenta's mouth falls open.

A chili pepper... is a  _ spicy _ pepper.

_ "Oh my god." _

Maybe it's not that hard to imagine that this is the same guy after all.

 

* * *

 

>   
>  [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] what time is ur shift done?
> 
> [ **SMS sent to:** Kim Sanggyun] In an hour or so.. why? 
> 
> [ **SMS from:** Kim Sanggyun] cool :)

* * *

 

  
Looking back on it, Kenta really should've seen this coming, but hindsight is 20/20 and he still feels the shock when he steps out of work and sees the red car sitting in the parking lot in the back. He halts in his tracks, looking quite literally like a deer in headlights as he recognizes the vehicle instantly from one of the more clear parts of his dream. It's just getting dark, and he can't  _ see _ Sanggyun but he knows he's there - the driver's window rolls down and a thin arm starts waving at him through the window.

He blinks, turning his head to the side as he contemplates whether he should just book it around the corner and pretend he never noticed Sanggyun but just as he has the thought, the car beeps at him, making him jump.

He steps towards the car, heading to where he sees Sanggyun's arm hanging lazily out of the car. Once he's close enough to make out his face, he can see Sanggyun smiling.

It's ridiculous, honestly, how strong Kenta's reaction is. Within a split second, his palms are going clammy, his cheeks are flushed and to think, it's literally just from the  _ sight _ of seeing Sanggyun. He can explain it away as a leftover reaction to his dream, considering this is the first time he's seen Sanggyun in person since it happened...

Or maybe he's just — what's that word Donghan used? —  _ whipped. _

Sanggyun's voice pipes up, snapping Kenta out of his thoughts. "Hey! I'm giving you a ride," Kenta opens his mouth to protest, but Sanggyun is calling out again. "Your friend in there bullied me into it. You should tell him that sending death threats to your regular customers is not very professional."

Donghan did what? Kenta blinks, glancing back at the closed door behind him. As if on cue, his phone buzzes, and Kenta looks down to see one notification:

> **[22:32 PM] Donghan:** Don't mess up your uniform too much ;)

Kenta looks up again, and with his head spinning, he realizes he doesn't have much of a choice. His feet drag him over to where Sanggyun is on the driver's side, and there he is - The Worst Customer On Earth, Himself - looking up at him from the open window.

Even with that simple, calm expression, Sanggyun's gaze is deadly. "Woah, you look like you've just seen a ghost-"

"I don't need a ride," Kenta interrupts, trying his best to sound polite but his voice tapers off in a meek way, and he clears his throat. "I mean- I always take the bus home. Whatever Donghan said, he was probably, um—" Setting them up? Getting his own sick pleasure out of trying to kill Kenta? "—lying." He swallows. "It's not far, so it's fine, I can go home on my own, but thanks-"

"You don't live anywhere close to here, though."

Kenta gapes. "How do you know where I live?—"

Oh. Right.

Sanggyun just looks at him, a hint of that amusement coming back to his features. "Sorry man, I don't have a choice. Donghan or whatever his name is said I better drive you home 'or else' and I dunno about you, but I think he's kinda scary—"

_ What the hell, Donghan.  _ Kenta doesn't need to ask himself what the younger is up to, but as always, he has questionable methods. Kenta sighs, looking off to the side as he weighs his options.

_ Just talk to him,  _ Donghan had insisted. It's obvious that he's trying to give Kenta the chance to do so here, but Kenta doesn't want to take it. T he thought of being in that car, again, alone with Sanggyun,  _ again  _ — it's dangerous. Kenta isn't sure how far he'll make it without opening the door and jumping out into the street.

"Please," says Sanggyun, pouting out his lower lip in an offensively cute way and Kenta is alarmed.  _ That's just not fair.  _ "I'm too young and beautiful to die."

Kenta hesitates for a moment longer, but he opens the door. As he slides into the passenger's seat, he's overwhelmed with the sense of having been in here before.

"Thank God," Sanggyun mumbles, as he reaches over to Kenta's seat to rest his arm on the back of it as he turns, looking out the back windshield as he pulls his car out of his parking spot. He's close enough that Kenta can catch a waft of his cologne, and  _ God,  _ does it smell good — but again, he gets the sense that it's familiar. Kenta stays rigid in his seat, eyes glued to the front windshield.

The car isn't new or fancy or anything. Kenta thinks that if Hyunbin saw it, it'd be an example of what he'd call a "mom car" — and though it's not terribly messy in the front, if Kenta glances behind him he can see empty cans of Red Bull, coffee cups, crumpled receipts and at least two shirts thrown onto the backseat. From the stereo, quiet pop music is playing. There's an AUX cord plugged into a phone resting in the cup-holder between them.

The first minute or so is silent, save for Sanggyun's humming. Kenta turns his head to stare out of the window, biting down on his lip as he tries to force his heartbeat to calm down.

Suddenly, the music gets a little louder as he unmistakable refrain of Usher's "Yeah" comes from the speakers. Kenta's brows furrow slightly, but still he doesn't turn to face Sanggyun  _ Okay, not the best music taste,  _ but somehow, it's fitting.

"Wanna guess how many times he says 'yeah' in this song?"

Kenta pauses, but then finally turns back, if only to give Sanggyun a raised-eyebrows,  _ are you serious  _ look. Sanggyun is smiling slightly, though he's looking up ahead at the road.

“Just guess.” 

Kenta doesn't really feel like guessing. His gaze trails back to the front of the car, staring out of the windshield at a red pair of brakelights as a car stops in traffic in front of them. "Um... forty times?"

"Nope. Higher."

Kenta fights the urge to roll his eyes. For someone so hot and seemingly charming , Sanggyun is turning out to be really, really lame.

(Somehow that makes Kenta like him more.)

"...Fifty."

"Nope," he says again. He glances at the rear-view mirror before passing somebody in their lane. "Seventy-five."

"That's a lot," Kenta replies lamely.  _ Say something else, you loser —  _ "Did you really count all the yeah's?"

"I don't have the attention span for that," Sanggyun laughs. "Nah, someone told me at a party once." Kenta blinks. There's a beat, and then Sanggyun finally glances over at him. "At the New Year's one."

_ Ah,  _ there it is. Kenta's heart rate picks up even before Sanggyun says anything else on the subject, and he's not all that surprised at what Sanggyun says next. "Which, by the way...."

Kenta furtively turns his eyes ahead again, shifting a little in his seat. He doesn't know this road well, but he tilts his head as he looks for a sign indicating how close they might be to his house. Which, he establishes quickly, is pretty much  _ not at all. _

He swallows. "What?"

Sanggyun sounds calm, just as casual as before, but Kenta catches a bit more of a serious tone as he lands the Big Question: "Were you just pretending to forget who I am, or...?"

Kenta's whole body tenses up. He wishes he had more time to prepare what he was going to say when this came up, but he doesn't — curse Donghan and his cursed 'let's fix everything Right Now' approach to life, otherwise Kenta could've tried to calculate and rehearse this conversation sooner.

When he answers, he sounds just about as awkward as he feels. "No, I really didn't know you until my friends told me they recognized you." There. That's good enough, right?

"That's all they told you?" Sanggyun says, sending Kenta into a mini-panic again.

Can he get away with lying? No, probably not. Kenta's tongue-tied, stuttering responses will be enough to indicate that there's  _ something  _ that he knows — whether he tells Sanggyun or not, he's going to find out.

He  _ won't  _ mention the dream though. It’s bad enough that just Sanggyun’s presence makes the air feel thinner, the car stuffier. When Kenta looks at him, e _ verything about him _ reminds him of that dream. He can’t look at his face as the streetlights illuminate him every other second, because looking at his lips, jawline, neck makes him remember kissing them. He can’t look at his eyes, because he remembers his gaze too well — he can’t even look at his  _ hands  _ because if he does, Kenta will just remember what they felt like on his hips.

"No, they..." Kenta clears his throat. "They saw us kiss, too."

Pause.

"Oh," Sanggyun answers, but his voice sounds a little bit funny.

Here, Kenta finally looks at him again. Does he see a hint of pink in Sanggyun's ears, or is that just wishful thinking?

"What  _ else  _ happened?" Kenta asks, his voice coming out a bit more soft than he intends. His heart thumps loudly. "I can't remember anything — honestly."

If Sanggyun tells him, then Kenta won't have to confess to his dream. Besides which, the details are hazy — it's not like he can rely entirely on his dreams to understand what happened...

He wants to know the truth, but Sanggyun isn't answering him.

" _ Sanggyun, _ " he pleads, and the other glances over at him again.

Kenta sees a hint of mischief in his eyes again, and he's a bit surprised.

"If I kiss you again, think it'll jog your memory?"

A wave of heat goes through Kenta's body, melting him into his seat.  _ Oh God.  _ He's speechless, and his expression must've been something funny because Sanggyun laughs before he turns back to the road. "Kidding. Let's play a game," says Sanggyun, almost in a sing-songy tone. That strange, tight sound in his voice when he first said  _ oh  _ is gone now, replaced again by the light-teasing sound that Kenta is used to. Kenta makes a face, and Sanggyun laughs before he looks at the road again. "'Cause It's more fun if you figure it out yourself. We'll do twenty questions, except like... only five questions—"

Kenta stares at him. "A  _ game? _ " Is he being serious? Kenta can't tell.

"Yeah. Ask me anything and I'll answer with yes or no. Maybe then you'll remember."

Kenta sucks in a deep breath, looking out through the windshield again. They pass a street sign that Kenta recognizes from his usual bus ride as only being ten or so minutes away.

When Kenta explains this story to Donghan later, he's going to lose it. Sanggyun could just tell him and get it over with, but clearly he's trying to tease him —  _ why does everyone want me to suffer,  _ Kenta thinks plaintively.

"Come on, first question," Sanggyun says, nudging him with his elbow. Even the light touch makes Kenta's arm tingle.

_ Donghan, I’ll end you. _

"Well," Kenta starts, speaking slowly. He scratches at the side of his neck. "I... already know we left the party together, so..."

Sanggyun is quiet; he doesn't confirm, nor deny. Kenta takes that as an affirmative.

"You drove me home, right?"

"M-hm." Sanggyun says. "There's your first question."

Okay, maybe not the best one to ask, considering it's kind of a given. The gears in Kenta’s head turn fast as he replays the details he does remember, trying to figure out where his missing pieces are and what he should ask to plug them in.

"And you came inside?"

Kenta glances over to see that Sanggyun has a strange look on his face, but it seems like he's trying not to smile, his mouth twisting up at the corners. (Kenta only realizes much, much later the bad joke that he'd accidentally made with his wording. If Kenta had caught it then,  _ this  _ would have been the moment where he opens the door and jumps out.)

"Yes. Three left,"

Kenta breathes out through his nose.

The elephant in the room is right there. Kenta only needs to ask one thing to solve the whole thing, but there are some things he's still curious about and if Sanggyun keeps playing up this 'remember on your own' thing, he's never going to find out. He gulps.

"...Was it a good kiss?"

Sanggyun is quiet for a moment longer than usual, and Kenta can see him blink as an orange streetlight passes overhead. He must not have been expecting the question, because he seems much less confident when he replies: "Yeah," he looks at Kenta then, and gives him a closed-mouth smirk that shoots an arrow right through Kenta's heart. "I think so, anyway."

_ Oh man. _

As Kenta looks away, waiting for his heart to slow down, they come up to a stop light. Sanggyun reaches over to tap a couple times on his phone, and then the song changes.

Kenta recognizes the first notes of Teen Top's "Rocking" instantly.

His eyes wide, his gaze snaps right back to Sanggyun as his mouth falls open. Sanggyun sees this and laughs. "What's that look for? You like this song, right?"

"How did you  _ know? _ " Kenta asks, and though the answer is obvious, for once he wants to hear it from Sanggyun. Sanggyun makes a wry expression.

"You talk  _ so much  _ when you're drunk, man, I heard basically every fun fact about Ricky that there is to know." Another laugh bubbles out of him. Kenta tries his best not to think about how Sanggyun's laugh might be the most infectious thing on Earth, but he fails. Kenta's brows draw together, and seeing his troubled face, Sanggyun adds: "It was cute though, don't worry. Like, really cute. I could listen to you talking for hours, but you're definitely more quiet when you're sober," his chuckle this time is quieter. Kenta's pretty sure his face is beet-red, his stomach doing the fluttery thing at Sanggyun calling him cute.

He opens his mouth to say something, but Sanggyun cuts him off. "Aaaand that was your fourth question! You've only got one left."

"What? That doesn't count!" Kenta protests, gasping.

"It's a question, so yes it does," replies Sanggyun, who seems to be having way too much fun. "Think carefully about this one, make it count!"

Kenta's mind spins. That elephant in the room is large enough to squash them both. There's a tension in the air, too, like Sanggyun knows exactly what Kenta wants to know and what he's going to ask, and Kenta is torn between wanting to hear the answer  _ right now  _ and wanting to never know, ever, so he doesn't have to sit here and combust because no matter what the answer is, he's going to regret asking anyway.

He sucks in another deep breath, and on the exhale he forces it out in a tiny voice: "Did we sleep together?"

There's a long, long pause, long enough for Kenta to glance at the door handle and contemplate jumping.  _ Oh god, oh god, oh god, _

"Sleep together as in... sleep in the same bed? Yep, you were the little spoon," answers Sanggyun, the smile evident in his voice. That fun tidbit of crush fodder is bad  _ enough  _ but Sanggyun ignoring the obvious makes Kenta want to scream.  _ Stop being cheeky when I'm dying!  _

"No, I mean—" God, does he have to spell it out? There are a thousand different terms for it, Kenta could ask in literally three different languages and yet he struggles to let it past his tongue. Why can't he say it? Is he twelve? Why can't Sanggyun just read between the lines and answer him? More importantly, why is everyone intent on wanting him to die?

"Did we do... more stuff?" He anticipates Sanggyun's answer before he says anything.  _ 'What kind of stuff?'  _ he doesn't even ask, but Kenta can hear it in his mind.

Kenta breathes, closes his eyes, and counts to five before he resigns himself to his fate.

“... _ Spicy  _ stuff."

There's a few seconds of silence before Sanggyun laughs again. Kenta opens his eyes stares at him intently, confused as to what he thinks is so funny. He'd like to think that it's just at his use of the word 'spicy', but a little fear creeps into his chest.

His heart beats so hard that it hurts.

"As nice as it is for you to think so... nah," Sanggyun says lightly, and Kenta's stomach drops. "We didn't have sex or anything, if that's what you're asking." Kenta stays silent, but Sanggyun continues in an amused voice as if this is the simplest thing in the world. "You were way too shit-faced by the time we left, and I was sober, so it would've been like, really immoral — I just tucked you into bed and stuff. I think you tried to make a joke when I told you I'd give you a ride, but that's it. Your friends probably assumed the worst when I went home with you, though. Sorry."

There's a pause as Kenta is still lost for what to say at first, but then he finds himself stammering: "What? But I— I remember—" His brows furrow.  _ Why is he lying?   _ "No, I  _ saw _ you in my room. I felt— I felt you—"

Here, Sanggyun looks at him, a look of surprise on his face. "What are you talking about? You said you didn't remember anything?" Now it's his turn to look confused. "Felt me what now _? _ "

Kenta thinks he might really be dying this time. "I- I had a dream, it..." He trails off.  _ Oh God.  _ Had he just assumed it was his memory, when—

"You're saying it's not real... we didn't do all those things?" He knew that the details were foggy, but the parts he remembered felt too real to be just a dream. But now that the doubt is creeping up on him, Kenta realizes that the parts he remembered had some inconsistencies. Now he can't remember if the room he saw was really his room...

"You had a sex dream about  _ me? _ " In his short time of knowing the man, Kenta has never seen Sanggyun in a state that ever came near 'flustered'. The mirth in his tone is gone, replaced for just a second with genuine surprise, confusion and what  _ might  _ be embarrassment, but Kenta can't really tell — and then, before Kenta can take anything back, Sanggyun is grinning again, even wider this time. " _Fuck,_ okay, that's kinda hot. What exactly happened in your dream then? I'm just curious-"

This is his worst nightmare, Kenta thinks as he buries his face in his hands. " _ Don't. _ " 

He fucked up. Donghan is never going to let him live, but more importantly he's never going to let  _ himself  _ live. Only Kenta would be the type to spend hours and hours trying to deny feelings for someone, just to dream dirty things about them, assume the dirty things were  _ real, tell said person about the dirty things  _ just to find out they're  _ not  _ real.

But he's not really _that_ surprised. Screwing up this royally is kinda his brand.

He wants to disappear, to take it all back and pretend he never got into this stupid car in the first place - he’s beyond embarrassed, and Sanggyun's obviously amused reaction isn't helping.

"Hey, if you're disappointed, it's okay. We can always re-enact the dream, I don't mind," he says, grinning toothily.

Kenta frowns into his hands.  _ He's joking,  _ Kenta thinks, playing around like he has been practically this whole time. That whole 'ask me questions thing' — Sanggyun knew the whole  _ time  _ what Kenta was assuming. He knew that his friends knew they went home together, too, so for how long did he plan to let Kenta think that they slept together? Was everything he did on purpose? Kenta's line of thinking returns to one of the first ones, back when he first had that conversation with Donghan and Taehyun.  _ They probably knew too,  _ he thinks with a bitter taste in his mouth.  _ I was right, it  _ was _ a prank. _

So what if they kissed at the party. So what if they maybe held hands and maybe cuddled and so what if Sanggyun was interested enough in him to find him at work — Sanggyun is reacting to this like it's a  _ joke,  _ like it's just  _ that _ funny that Kenta might want him in  _ that way  _ and under Sanggyun's grin, Kenta feels humiliated.

And yeah, maybe he’s a little bit disappointed. 

"Well I'm glad you think it's funny," Kenta mumbles as he takes his hands away from his face, his voice leaking much more hurt than he intended. 

Sanggyun's smile falters, but Kenta tears his gaze away and looks outside. He hadn't when the car stopped, but as he looks out,  _ Thank God,  _ he sees the front of his apartment complex. He casts Sanggyun one more clouded look and gives him a flat little "Thanks for the ride," opens the door and quickly steps out before Sanggyun can stop him. 

_ "Wait-"   _ The car door slams shut, cutting off Sanggyun's voice. Kenta adjusts his jacket and walks away, pulling out his phone to update Donghan with a string of angry, dramatic texts as the laments the crushed feeling in his chest. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL, on that super overdramatic note,  
> don't worry! kenta's angst will be resolved fairly quickly LOL he's just a bit sensitive and.. sanggyun doesn't handle feelings delicately enough rip
> 
> spoilers: chapter 3 will be mostly in sanggyun's pov, including a flashback! :>
> 
> as always, catch me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/takadatv) for updates about this, my other works, and regular screaming about kenggyun & jbj as a whole. shoutout to my tlist for supporting me through my writers block and never-ending screaming, i love u so much TT and thank _you_ for reading, i hope you're as excited for the next chapter as i am!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "don't worry, kenta's angst will be resolved quickly"  
> > doesn't update for 5 months 
> 
> ha...ha...
> 
> well if you've been waiting for this, THANK YOU and i'm sorry TT this chapter might seem disjointed in parts and it's mainly because i wrote it & rewrote it across the span of,,,,well a long ass time so it was sort of hard to capture the same voice & flow of the past chapters. TT pls forgive me!! a crappy final chapter is better than No final chapter though, so i hope you can enjoy some of it;; and let me know if you did!♡

> **_NEW YEAR'S EVE, SOME PARTY, 11:40PM._ **
> 
> **_(_ ** **_—_ ** **_SANGGYUN. )_ **

The bass thumps throughout the house, so loud that it seems to be shaking the foundations. In every corner one can see, people are dancing, crashing into each other and doing all sorts of other questionable things, as people do when preparing to ring in the New Year.

Sanggyun, who actually knows a grand total of one(1) person at this party, is not _uncomfortable,_ per se, but he's not exactly having the time of his life or anything either. Everyone around him is absolutely _wrecked_ but since he has to drive himself home, he can't participate and he feels left out. It's a lot easier to join in on the partying and reckless nonsense when he's properly drunk but instead he's stuck here, non-alcoholic drink in hand, perfectly sharp-minded and far too aware of the chaos surrounding him.

He's bored. He could find someone to talk to pretty easily, _if_ he wants to run the risk of getting barfed on, but he doesn’t, so here he is: alone, leaned up on a wall, standing by the drink table where someone has graciously stood a few cans of Mr Pibb for those few poor souls who can't drink the champagne (and the cheaper vodka coolers, beer, and whatever's in the those mysterious bright blue and red punch bowls.)

"I told him I like Dr Pepper," Sanggyun muses to himself in dismay, cracking open a cold one (with no boys, sadly) as he looks around the room over the top of his can.

Hyunbin, a friend who Sanggyun made on Soundcloud a couple years ago, always graciously extends an invitation to his parties but Sanggyun, despite his love of alcohol and loud music, rarely actually goes. His new job at the cafe has him working nights, and besides, it's not as fun coming to these things when he doesn't know anybody except Hyunbin. Not that he's really an introvert (the Snapchat quizzes Hyunbin often sends him usually label him an ‘ambivert’, whatever that means) but he does just finds it more difficult to charm people with his wit and charisma when nobody can hear him over the bass-boosted Usher that Hyunbin insists on playing at least 3 times at every party.

_"Everybody say yeah, yeah, yeah! Yeah! Yeah!... Yeah!"_

Sanggyun hears a familiar, impossibly deep voice screaming in the other room, and various cheers and shouts going along with it. Sanggyun smiles a little to himself, hoping that Hyunbin is having a good time.

"Seventy-five times," comes a sudden voice from beside him, and Sanggyun jumps six feet into the air.

"Jesus fucking-" he curses, then readjusts himself as he takes a breath and wills his heartrate to slow back down. He leans on the wall again and dramatically places his free hand on his chest, gripping his (thankfully safe) Mr Pibb in the other. "You gave me a heart attack, man,"

"He says 'yeah' seventy-five times in this song." When Sanggyun turns his head to look, he sees a cute boy he doesn't know: around his height, with purple-ish-pink hair, glitter on his face, liquid-filled red solo cup in hand and a v-neck shirt nearly falling off one of his shoulders. He's actually not speaking to Sanggyun, apparently, as he’s staring into his cup instead. Sanggyun isn't entirely sure that the guy would hear him if he said anything.

Sanggyun purses his lips and considers whether or not he should try engaging. As he peers at the other’s face, though, he decides it’s worth it. After a moment, he pipes up: “Wow. Seventy-five. You’ve been counting?”

To his surprise, the other does respond. He's still staring at his drink, though, as if _it_ had been the one talking to him. "M-hm. I counted last time they played this song, which was, um, a little while ago," His words are slurring together slightly, and Sanggyun thinks he can detect a slight accent. Japanese, maybe? "I tried to count again to make sure, but..." He hiccups, bringing his hand up to his mouth before he speaks again. "I lost count this time because I forgot what comes after fifteen. Oh, right..." There's a pause. "Sixteen!" He smiles..

When the other man finally looks directly at him, Sanggyun feels his heart thump once.

 _Oh._ Is this the prettiest person Sanggyun has ever seen? _Perhaps..._ Yes. Definitely. Maybe someone spiked his Mr Pibb and he's not so sober after all, but Sanggyun is pretty sure he might be looking a beautiful, otherworldly and  _hot_  fairy-person in real life.

A _drunk_ fairy-person, but still.

Already smitten, Sanggyun tilts his head a little and smiles back. "I'm Sanggyun. What's your name?"

Sanggyun learns a few things his name is Kenta, he _is_ Japanese, and he's Sanggyun's age. He finds out a lot more in the Kenta in the next ten minutes, as Kenta is incredibly chatty, though Sanggyun only catches about half of the slurred conversation and it takes some context clues to figure out what exactly he's trying to say. But Sanggyun doesn’t mind, he met Kenta minutes ago but he’s still the most interesting person to talk to him in a long time. Plus, he just likes to listen to his voice: it’s nice, and gentle, not exactly easy to hear over the seventy-five Yeah’s going on but Sanggyun leans closer to hear him properly.

He also finds out that Kenta is kinda touchy-feely. Sanggyun has had some experience with clingy drunks, so he really shouldn't be all that surprised — but every time the incredibly attractive Japanese man grabs his arm while telling a story, leans onto his shoulder while laughing, or touches him or his shirt for any other reason, alarm bells go off in Sanggyun's head.

 _Okay, nice, be chill Sanggyun,_ —

He knows when someone is telegraphing that they’re attracted to him, because Sanggyun himself is a _master_ of seduction. (Kenta is pretty obvious, too, but Sanggyun likes to think he’s being observant and clever.)

The only problem lies in the fact that Sanggyun just saw someone come by and refill the delighted Kenta's drink, in how he's swaying back and forth without realizing and Sanggyun notices that Kenta's eyes are focused properly when he looks at him.

As Kenta goes on about some boy-band that he likes, Sanggyun looks around. Everyone else at this party is just as, if not _more_ wasted than Kenta. Sanggyun — who is _not_ getting attached already, he’s a generally pretty Nice Guy, okay  — starts to feel worried. Did Kenta come here with anyone? If so, where are they now? How is he getting home?

The clock in the kitchen changes to **11:58.** It’s really not that late. Don’t people usually start drinking _after_ the clock strikes midnight? Jeez.

As Sanggyun’s still staring into the kitchen, he feels Kenta's hand tugging on his sleeve, and Sanggyun turns to look at him. He knows he sort of zoned out on the guy just now, so he feels a little bad, and apologizes with a quick smile: "Sorry, uh, what was that about Ricky again?"

“Ah, no,” Kenta shakes his head, looking over Sanggyun's shoulder, at the same clock. "I said it’s almost midnight already.”

"Yeah," Sanggyun says, eyeing him in light confusion; Kenta's face just fell all of a sudden. Sanggyun notices that his lips look pouty. _And soft._ Sanggyun blinks a couple times, trying to clear his head of thirsty thoughts.

"Can I ask you for a favour? Even though we just met?" When Kenta's eyes on his again, his gaze is strangely lucid. Sanggyun feels something — _something,_ he doesn't have a name for it yet but it's _— stir in his chest._

__

"Shoot," he replies, his voice barely able to be heard over the sound of the music. Kenta's hand is on his arm again, and he's leaning closer. All of this Sanggyun takes note of instantly, as he's paying _way_ too much attention to this drunk and handsome stranger who felt the need to chat him up at midnight.

Then the question comes:

"Will you be my New Year's kiss?"

_Ohhhhh my God._

Sanggyun feels somewhat triumphant for a second: he was right, Kenta _is_ into him. Sanggyun's expert seduction skills have worked yet again! He fights off his own grin and ignores the way his own heart beats faster as he contemplates calling out the Japanese boy for his honestly lame (but cute) excuse to kiss him, because who actually does New Year's kisses, really?

But as he formulates his response, he realizes Kenta is dead serious. His eyes are wide and bright and open and soft — _shit —_ and Sanggyun, for once, is speechless. Only for a total of about three seconds, but still.

"Sorry, that's weird to ask isn't it?" Kenta speaks sheepishly, visibly nervous, words still slurring as his gaze flicks off to the side. There's some pink in his cheeks. "I just- I never get to have a New Year's kiss, and I know I’m drunk but you look really good to kiss, and you smell nice, and you've been so nice to me, and—"

Sanggyun cuts him off before he can embarrass himself any further. (Who said chivalry is dead?) "Sure, I'll kiss you."

Kenta's worried expression melts into a smile as he sweetly, gently stomps all over Sanggyun's heart.

_Cool._

Kenta leans a bit to the left to look behind him again, and Sanggyun follows his glance just as the minute hand clicks to 11:59. A discord of chants from the crowd around them as people start counting down from thirty, twenty-five, twenty, fifteen —

Kenta makes a cute little cheer and joins the countdown at ten, still looking at the clock. Sanggyun doesn't participate, remaining silent and choosing to watch Kenta closely instead, wondering what good karma points he’s managed to rack up for the past couple of days to have the Universe bring him here and give him a cute boy that wants to kiss him.

For the last few seconds of the countdown, Kenta's gaze comes back to Sanggyun's, and then very obviously flickers down to his lips. Sanggyun catches the little smile on his face as Kenta leans towards him much closer, fingers still grasping Sanggyun's right sleeve.

_… Three, two, one. Happy New Year!_

Kenta's lips are on his a short moment later. They're soft, warm, everything Sanggyun would've expected just by looking at them (they're also a little sticky from one of the treats Kenta must've had earlier, but who cares.) The kiss is pretty chaste at first, and for a second Sanggyun thinks Kenta is just going to pull away but then he feels a hand on his cheek and Kenta's lips are moving, deepening the kiss.

Sanggyun tastes sugar, strawberry chapstick and tequila. It's a weird mixture but Sanggyun likes it, likes it almost as much as he likes how eagerly Kenta presses against him, how the hand on his shirt grips tighter as the kiss gets more heated. The cheers for New Years have merged with the music and faded into the background for Sanggyun, as for a moment he forgets that it's not just him and Kenta in the room.

It's over way too soon.

Some drunk dancers jostle into them, breaking them apart as Sanggyun grabs Kenta's shoulders to keep him from falling over. The guys shoot them a half-assed apology before continuing on their way to the bar, and Sanggyun looks after them for a moment, then sighs before looking at Kenta. "Fuckers," he says eloquently, his voice coming out just a little bit breathy. He clears his throat

Kenta is looking at him, but he seems a little dazed. Kenta touches his lips in an expression of amazement and _probably_ something else and Sanggyun feels a sense of pride at knowing his kiss probably blew Kenta's mind. He knows he's a good kisser.

 _Another one bites the dust,_ Sanggyun thinks smugly.

But then Kenta smiles at him softly, light glinting off the sparkles under his eyes and Sanggyun blinks several times as his heart is trampled over for the second time tonight, and he knows: 

It's him. _Sanggyun_  just bit the dust.

 

* * *

 

A friend from high school beckons to Sanggyun from across the room and it takes a few tonnes of willpower for Sanggyun to draw himself away from Kenta's presence. The magenta-haired man who still hadn't let go of Sanggyun's arm pouted at his 'be right back' but didn't otherwise object to Sanggyun leaving because the second Sanggyun stepped away, Kenta was distracted again by the nearby snack table. He looks back at him over his shoulder, maybe a couple more times than necessary, but he's worried that the crowd would drown him and then he'd be lost...

He isn't planning to _do_ anything else with Kenta tonight, honestly; that kiss was enough for now. Sanggyun, is sober, although the tingling in his lips and his giddy, fogged-up brain makes him sort of feel like he's not; Kenta is very much _not_ sober and this intoxication is only going to steadily get worse from here. Sanggyun is the _spicy_ type by nature but in no way could he justify going for more with someone who could barely stand on his two feet... no matter how eager said someone might seem.

(What Sanggyun might want do to him _sober_ is another story.)

The high school friend keeps most of his attention for some time, but Kenta remains in the back of Sanggyun's mind. When he looks over again to their original spot, he can't see a single pink-haired head in sight, and he's feels a pang of uncharacteristic concern. He screws up his face a little at the thought of Kenta disappearing into one of those crowds. The house is big and filled with people with worse morals than he, and when there's a very drunk, very cute fairy-man staggering around somewhere —

"Sorry man, can you hold that thought? Nature calls," he excuses himself elegantly, shouldering past his friends and heading back to where he last saw his new friend in the crowd.

It doesn't take him very long at all. He finds Kenta in the very first place he thinks to check, hovering near the bar in the kitchen with a devilish look in his eyes as if he's going to try to get himself yet _another_ drink and, though it's really none of his business at all, Sanggyun can't help the big giant 'NOPE' that comes to mind. He makes his way through the kitchen and, with perfect timing, grabs Kenta's arm as he reaches for another glass of who-knows-what.

"Woah there, tiger," he says, as Kenta turns to look at him with at first an annoyed expression, and then a much softer, smiley look of recognition as he says _hi again_ in the cutest way possible and Sanggyun has to remind himself that feeling _crush_ sort of feelings for someone this early is ridiculous.

"You've already had a _lot,_ how about some water? Or, uh," What else does Hyunbin even have stocked? "Mr Pibb? Milk?"

"No!" Kenta replies. Sanggyun is pretty sure that he's trying to sound firm but it just comes off as sounding a bit whiny instead. He tries half-assedly to pull his wrist away from Sanggyun and then gives up half a second later, letting his arm flop. He straightens up though, and faces him, swaying closer to him again as he pouts. Sanggyun has to try very, very hard not to look at his lips again.

"I want more," Kenta continues. He wants more... more what? The look in his eyes makes Sanggyun not entirely sure he means the tequila. What comes next, delivered with the curl of a light smile, confirms this: "Because it tasted reaaally good."

Sanggyun, ignoring the heat that Kenta’s gaze brings to the back of his neck, raises both eyebrows, but doesn't give that an answer. He inspects Kenta's state and decides he's pretty far gone. He only finished his last drink while talking to Sanggyun which couldn't have been more than ten minutes ago; the alcohol from that one will be kicking in soon, if it hasn’t yet. In this kitchen, no one is holding anyone to any limits and Sanggyun might be the only person here who could stop Kenta from potentially passing out, or doing something even more stupid.

Sanggyun feels _important._ If no one else is taking care of him… maybe _he's_ the one destined to be Kenta's hero…!

"Actually, um, maybe I do want water," Kenta pipes up, suddenly changing his mind. He furrows his brows. "I don't... feel very good. I think I should take a nap."

Sanggyun lets go of Kenta's wrist now, but Kenta doesn't go for the drink again. "How are you getting home?" Sanggyun asks. He thinks he remembers Kenta saying he came here with friends, but he doesn't doubt that they're all scattered about and probably equally as wasted as Kenta. "Napping here is a pretty bad idea."

Kenta stares through him, eyes unfocused now. He shrugs. "Bus?"

Sanggyun laughs, then shakes his head. "You can't trust the bus this late at night, especially on New Year's. No way."

Kenta thinks for a moment. Then: "I'll walk!"

"Great idea!" Kenta seems satisfied at this answer, so Sanggyun clarifies his sarcasm: " _Kenta._ I'm joking. Walking home is an even dumber."

The thought of this soft and squishy Glitter Fairy trying to stumble his way home alone makes Sanggyun feel queasy. He's really not the type to worry about strangers (okay, maybe he is, but he hates to admit it -- Sanggyun, who is fondly known among close circles as the Narcissistic Class Clown one, has a reputation to upkeep, and showing this side of him goes very much against that) but the very drunk young man in front of him needs help and Sanggyun's been with him for long enough tonight to feel responsible.

"I'll give you a ride if you want,"

"A ride?" Kenta says, and that cheeky smile is pulling up on his lips again. "That sounds like fun," he adds, his tone lilting and his gaze sharpening in a way that makes the implication of his joke immediately clear. Sanggyun's mouth drops open slightly open because he _still_ really isn’t expecting these kinds of jokes to come out of this sweet mouth but then again, it's maybe not all that surprising given the expert way he took Sanggyun's breath away earlier.

His cheeks slightly hot, Sanggyun clears his throat. "A ride _home,_ as in I'll _drive_ you, because I'm not drinking," Kenta is pouting again, and his ‘ _oh’_ sounds a bit hurt. _Shit._ He doesn't want Kenta to get the wrong idea...

Sanggyun clears his throat. "Um, listen, trust me when I say it's really, really tempting but, you're definitely shit-faced and I would hate myself forever if I did more than kiss you tonight, because I'm not that kind of dude and I really don't think it's morally correct," God, why couldn't Kenta be sober right now? Sanggyun would be _all over that._ "But for the record, that's really not an easy decision to make."

"I am _not_ shit-faced," Kenta interrupts, genuinely frowning now. "My face is Cute And Sexy."

Unable to fight his smile, Sanggyun shakes his head, gently pulling Kenta away from the table. Despite his initial protests, Kenta doesn't seem _that_ against going with him, though Sanggyun feels awkward — he hopes he doesn't have to explain his intentions again. Regardless, Kenta loyally remains beside him as he tries his best to weave through the party, worried about losing the other right up until Kenta grabs his hand. Sanggyun lets their fingers interlace and doesn't say anything as he blushes slightly.

He locates the front door after some time, and makes a beeline for it with Kenta following closely after. Just as they're about to leave, Sanggyun catches the eye of a tall, blonde boy and a much shorter brunette standing off near the beer pong table, staring in their direction. Kenta waves to the both of them with his free hand and then gives them a lame thumbs-up. He assumes those are Kenta's friends (although he wouldn’t put it past Kenta to act that way with strangers right now, too.) They both look over at Kenta with recognition, though, gazes landing on their hands and then Sanggyun.

"Don't worry," Sanggyun calls out over the heads of the people still dancing in the front room, blushing a bit. "I'm just keeping him safe." The brunette waves and the blonde says something to him, laughing.

Kenta calls goodbye again in a singsong and Sanggyun is very aware of what this whole thing looks like. He grits his teeth slightly, looks back ahead at the door and tugs Kenta away from the mass of partiers, successfully opening the door and getting them to fresh air.

Sanggyun doesn't _have_ to hold Kenta's hand until they get to his car, but he does. He tells himself that it's because Kenta could get himself lost. In a giant, tree-less, flat yard full of grass… _yeah._

 _I’m just keeping him safe,_ he hears his own voice in his head, and scoffs lightly. What a line... he sounds like a tool. Only a tool would say that kind of thing.

But as Kenta’s warm hand tightens around his, Sanggyun knows he actually means it.

 

* * *

 

Kenta doesn't let him leave that night without taking his number. He's in bed, blankets pulled up all the way to his chin but he still reaches his arms out to type a number into Sanggyun's phone, entering his own contact name:

> [ SMS contact saved: _CutieSexy Kenta❤ ]_

He also asks Sanggyun to cuddle him, and his extremely sleepy state indicates to Sanggyun that it’s probably safe to do so; he climbs into bed and awkwardly lays on top of the covers beside him as Kenta mumbles about Sanggyun being nice and handsome until he drifts off to sleep. Sanggyun actually lightly dozes a little, too, before his phone buzzes in his pocket and wakes him up. Sanggyun gets up, yawns lightly and looks down at Kenta’s sleeping face for a moment. He takes Kenta’s unattended phone from where it lies on Kenta’s pillow, plugs it in for him, fetches a glass of water from the bathroom and puts it on his nightstand.

“Goodnight,” He says to the sleeping Glitter Fairy, then before he can stop himself, he leans in and kisses his cheek.

 

* * *

 

Sanggyun calls Cutie Sexy’s number the very next day, as soon as he’s home from work.

_"Thank you for calling Just Be JoyFull, Donghan speaking-"_

Sanggyun is so confused that he just instantly hangs up.

He stares at his phone for a while, then lets out a little sigh.

 _Damn,_ he thinks, trying not to let himself feel too disappointed, but it happens anyway. He knows there’s a possibility that Kenta just put in his number wrong, but Sanggyun’s mind goes down the dramatic route on his own: _I’m a fool… Played by the heart… Bamboozled._

It's kinda sad, Sanggyun thinks. For someone who doesn't usually spend time on getting to know people, Sanggyun was willing to spend hours learning everything else about him.

He breathes a short, humourless laugh through his nose. _Oh well._

 

* * *

 

It's his night off, Sanggyun is about halfway through a Fullmetal Alchemist marathon when he's hit with hunger pangs. He shoots a lazy glance into his kitchen, mentally racking through all the food he has stored (read: not much at all) and decides that making yet another bowl of cup noodles will probably kill him. He shifts his lounging position on the couch, reaching for his phone, and absently opens up Google to look for delivery options.

The first thing that comes up has Sanggyun squinting at his phone. _Just Be JoyFull: value pizza and wings!_ Google shows him that they only have 3/5 stars, but they're open for another two hours. According to the little dot on the map, they're the closest pizza place to his apartment, just a couple blocks away — followed by Wanna Slice down the road from there. He blinks. Isn’t that the place where Hyunbin’s grandpa works or something?

 _Destiny,_ Sanggyun thinks, a slightly bitter taste in his mouth as he's reminded, yet again, of Kenta. It's been a while since they met, and Sanggyun has been trying his best to live his life without sulking. But it's hard when it's just so _wrong_ for it to be _Sanggyun_ being played. He's been rejected before, yeah, but it's rare (and normally he doesn't really _care._ )

Not that he _does_ care that much, Kenta is just a stranger to him after all; he's just stuck on him because that kiss was pretty damn _good_ and he's the cutest person he's ever seen and maybe Sanggyun likes cute things a little too much. It’s hard to imagine someone _that_ genuine and eager as someone who would be the Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em type, but he supposes alcohol can do anything to a man…

At least he knows what will fill the empty void in his heart. _Pizza._ Hell yeah.

Looking up from his phone from the couch, he punches in his order: a 2-liter of Dr. Pepper, a pizza with extra pineapple. He enters in his address and, as an afterthought, adds a note in the box delivery instructions: _send your cutest driver ;)._ Why not, right? Maybe someone hot will show up and cheer him up.

Needless to say that considering the way his luck is going, he wasn't surprised to see an old man at his door. Though his smile is nice, he guesses, and his mustache is weirdly perfect, he's not exactly Sanggyun's type.

He still wishes him a good night anyway, takes his order and tips him a nice 25%. When he walks back into the living room and looks into the plastic bag, he sees a litre of Coke instead of Dr. Pepper.

Sanggyun wrinkles his nose. "Come on."

> **[20:38]** **sanggyunie:** i think the universe is out to get me, man

His best friend replies promptly, which is rare for him, but Sanggyun is grateful. He asks Sanggyun what happened and while chewing on his pizza, Sanggyun types out his sob story: that not only did they mix up his pop flavours, but they messed up his special request, too.

> **[20:43] hyunbin:** Hey that was my grandpa you MONSTER

Oh, whoops. Sanggyun feels silly. He's only met Grandpa Kwon a handful of times but you'd think he would've recognized the mustache at least.

> **[20:44] sanggyunie:**  right... sorry
> 
> **[20:45] sanggyunie:** tell him i said his mustache is rad!!
> 
> **[20:47] sanggyunie:** he's not bad for an old guy... sugar grandpa ;)
> 
> **[20:48] hyunbin:**  Ew now you made it weird 

(Sanggyun does that a lot.)

> **[20:48] hyunbin:** I'm changing the subject
> 
> **[20:48] sanggyunie:**  understandable
> 
> **[20:48] hyunbin:**  Is the pizza ok?
> 
> **[20:48] sanggyunie:** yeah
> 
> **[20:51] sanggyunie:** i was looking forward to seeing someone cute though, my whole night is ruined again :( :( 
> 
> **[20:52] hyunbin:** _IMG_1017.JPG_
> 
> **[20:52] hyunbin:** Here u go :)
> 
> **[20:52] sanggyunie:** oh shit now my night is MADE! thanks bro
> 
> **[20:53] hyunbin:** you're still upset about that guy who broke your heart aren't u
> 
> **[20:54] sanggyunie:** hyunbin PLEASE, my heart is just fine and i'm not SAD why would i be sad

But he _is_ sad. He shouldn't be, but he is. He would say he's more just _bummed_ than broken-hearted, because that would imply that he managed to catch real-life feelings for the stranger that went beyond just wanting to see him again and kiss him again... and cuddle him again... and hold him...

Fuck.

> **[20:54] sanggyunie:** it's lil tommy who's sad... he is just so lonely :(
> 
> **[20:54] hyunbin:**  EW  
>    
>  **[20:54] hyunbin:** Why do you always call it Tommy?? you’re so gross
> 
> **[20:55] sanggyunie:**  would u rather i say my dingdong? 
> 
> **[20:55] hyunbin:**  No.
> 
> **[20:55] sanggyunie:**  my flesh wand 
> 
> **[20:55] hyunbin:**  WTF
> 
> **[20:55] sanggyunie:**  my heat seeking missile 
> 
> **[20:55] hyunbin:**  This is why you've never been on a date, hyung.
> 
> **[20:56] hyunbin:** ...Anyway... There aren't really any cute drivers there as far as I know. Just my grandpa and Mr Lee, the weekend guy. Mr Lee is the brother of my grandpa's best friend, the other Mr Lee
> 
> **[20:56] sanggyunie:** his best friend slash rival?
> 
> **[20:57] hyunbin:** Yea
> 
> **[20:57] hyunbin:** Grandpa goes over to his house on tuesday mornings to help water his plants because Mr Lee is in a wheelchair and can't reach them anymore. Not the first Mr Lee. He can drive because he still has his legs
> 
> **[20:58] sanggyunie:** that is really beautiful hyunbin
> 
> **[20:58] sanggyunie:** i feel a bit better now

And he actually does. Grandpa Kwon and Second Mr Lee’s best-friendship-slash-rivalry is poetic.

> **[21:00] hyunbin:** but yeah, if u want to meet cute people, don't get delivery. The cooks are cuter
> 
> **[21:01] hyunbin:** My best friend Donghan works there!

Sanggyun makes a face. Isn’t _he_ Hyunbin’s best friend?

Somewhat grumpy now, he turns on the TV and sits back, gnawing on his crust. He does think about it, though… going into the store is not a bad idea. He remembers hearing that Donghan guy's voice on the phone. He also vaguely remembers Hyunbin mentioning him by name a few times, but he doesn't think they've met before. 

> **[21:03] sanggyunie:** is donghan cute?
> 
> **[21:04] hyunbin:** yeah
> 
> **[21:04] hyunbin:** But he's a mess
> 
> **[21:05] hyunbin:** There's also Taehyun hyung, he's cute too... i'm not introducing u to him though. He deserves better than u
> 
> **[21:05] hyunbin:** No offense bro
> 
> **[21:06] sanggyunie:** none taken

Sanggyun takes another slice of pizza. Between texts, he picks up his Playstation remote and clicks over to Netflix. He picks a true crime show that he's probably seen before and settles in, hearing his phone buzz a couple minutes later. He doesn't check right away, because he accidentally got pizza sauce on his fingers and he's looking around for the paper towel he keeps on the end table. He glances over, though, just to look at his locked phone screen. 

> **[21:08] hyunbin:** Oh yeah and there's Kenta hyung
> 
> **[21:09] hyunbin:** But I don't know if u would be his type 

_Kenta?_

Sanggyun stares at the notification, his heart skipping.

_No fucking way._

> **[21:12] sanggyunie:** what

(There’s pizza sauce on his screen now. He doesn’t care or notice.)

> **[21:12] sanggyunie:** kenta?
> 
> **[21:12] sanggyunie:**  which kenta?????
> 
> **[21:13] hyunbin:** Um.. I only know one?
> 
> **[21:13] hyunbin:**  He's around your age I think, and super cute! He was at my New Year's party... Pink hair

Sanggyun sits up straight, his Netflix forgotten. "Fuck," he says, out loud, pushing a hand (thankfully not the pizza-sauced one) through his hair.

> **[21:14] hyunbin:** wait
> 
> **[21:14] hyunbin:**  OMG  
> 

Far too distracted now to respond, Sanggyun stands up, setting the pizza box down beside him. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, holy fuck —_

Kenta. That's his sort-ofcrush, Kenta, the Glitter Fairy Cutie Sexy Boy himself, who didn't give Sanggyun just some phony number but instead... the number to his work? Was this his plan? Oh, he's not only hot but he’s _clever._ If he's playing some kind of game with him, Sanggyun is totally cool with participating if it means he gets to talk to him again.

Excitement thrums through him as he dials the number, and, maybe the universe isn't out to get him _after_ all because the phone is answered with a _Kenta speaking_ and there's a beat as Sanggyun silently grins and bites at his fist in excitement, then speaks.

The conversation doesn't exactly go the way he's expecting it to, but it's okay. For now he's just happy to know that he knows how to talk to him again. Kenta doesn't play along with his jokes or completely understand who he is but that's okay, Sanggyun assumes he just doesn't recognize his voice or name very well. Understandable, considering how drunk he was. He'll definitely remember who he is when he sees his Incredibly Handsome face in person again, though. He's sure of it.

 

* * *

 

"So I'm, like, ninety percent sure that he completely forgot who I am."

"Really?" Hyunbin is saying, looking up from his phone. His eyes blink wide and earnest, with some concern as he notices the rather dejected way Sanggyun is heaping little piles of pork onto the grill between them. "You said he was drunk, but was it _that_ bad?"

"I think so. He hasn't even mentioned New Year's once. And I think I've just been annoying him." Sanggyun purses his lips. "But I think he might still like me on some level... I caught him smiling at least once, so...!"

Hyunbin is still looking at him as he sips his drink. Sanggyun continues, glum:

"I mean... I was sort of expecting more, you know? 'specially cause he really seemed to like me at the party." He pauses. "I'm pretty easy to like, too, so—"

"You are," Hyunbin humours him, loyal as ever. Sanggyun nods and mumbles a thanks and eats a piece of pork. "But hyung, why haven't you just asked him if he remembers? What if he's just messing around with you?"

Hyunbin is voicing Sanggyun's exact worries, but he doesn't want Hyunbin to know that. Sanggyun shrugs casually.

"I don’t know him that well but I don’t think he’s really the tricky type," Hyunbin says. "Maybe he felt embarrassed about being wasted at the party, so he's pretending he doesn't remember? That doesn't mean he doesn't like you, though."

Sanggyun cocks his head to the side as he remembers something, squinting at his friend. "Didn't you say last week that you don't know if I'm his type?"

Hyunbin flusters a little at the callout. "Well, to be fair, I don't really know what Kenta's type is. Donghan said he only talks about Teen Top. I guess since you hooked up at my party you _must_ be his type?"

Sanggyun coughs. "We didn't hook up, we just kissed once."

"And you took him home."

"To tuck him into bed and kiss him on the cheek!"

"Wait, did you really kiss his cheek?"

"No! Maybe!" Sanggyun blushes. "So what? He asked me to."

(Kenta didn’t ask him to. But, again, Hyunbin doesn't need to know.)

"You're soft, hyung."

"Shut up," Sanggyun shoves more meat into his mouth, embarrassed. He points a chopstick at Hyunbin. "You're not one to talk! I've seen the vague captions on Instagram about _your_ sexy pizza man. You’re not slick."

Even under the dingy lighting, Sanggyun can tell that Hyunbin's ears are turning red. "They're not _all_ about him..."

And with that, Hyunbin drops the subject, which is Sanggyun's tiny victory. As they talk about some other stuff, Sanggyun's mind stays stuck — as it has been for the last few days — on Kenta.

 

* * *

 

It's when he's home from the BBQ place, lying in bed and watching random DIY videos on his phone that a message comes up from an unknown number. Sanggyun blinks, lips pulling down slightly in confusion — it's not exactly _uncommon_ for people (read: Hyunbin, mostly) to text him in the middle of the night but the number is completely new, so Sanggyun wonders if it's a wrong-number text... that or someone Sanggyun gave his number to a while back. He can't remember.

Part of him hopes it's Kenta, but maybe that's too good to be true...

He types back his reply, includes a polite smiley face and sends it off. The message says delivered, but there's no read receipt after that and Sanggyun waits for a little while, then goes back to his videos until sleep takes him a few hours later.

As it turns out, it _is_ Kenta. It's _Kenta_ and he's mentioning New Year's on his own and Sanggyun feels way, way too giddy for this to just be a normal thing for a sexy stranger he met at a party a few weeks ago.

Between making orders at work, he sneaks to the back room to respond to Kenta's texts whenever he can. He spends a good amount of time trying to play around with him, teasing him about the night by only mentioning it vaguely, intentionally making it seem worse than it actually was just to gauge Kenta's reactions. Sanggyun can picture his cute expressions, blushing on the other end of the line.

As he bites back a grin and sends Kenta the cutest keyboard sticker he can find, a voice in the back of his head tells him he's getting too quickly attached. He's being dumb. He still doesn't understand everything about that night and Kenta and what he remembers, he should be more careful —

Then Kenta sends him a heart emoji, and it’s all over.

 

* * *

> [ **Donghan** would like to add you on kakao. ] 

"Huh?"

He accepts.

> **[ 22:44 ] Donghan:** Kenta's shift ends soon. u better come pick him up and talk to him and if u don't I'll come into your house while you're sleeping and break your kneecaps. twice

 He blinks at his phone several times, shrugs, then heads out to his car.  
 

* * *

 

The drive is going well at first. Kenta seems nervous, but at the same time more friendly than he was the first couple times they've interacted since the party. He's different from the Kenta he first met, but there are similarities; still, Sanggyun sort of wishes he'd look at him as intensely and smile as brightly as he did on that first night rather than looking too embarrassed to make eye contact with him. This side of him is still cute, though; he figures Kenta is a shier person when he's not drinking, which is natural, and completely fine! He gets the sense though, judging by how Hyunbin described him in an earlier conversation, that he's not normally this quiet. He feels bad for making him feel so nervous.

Trying to lighten things up, while they're at a red light he reaches over to where his phone is plugged in and scrolls a little to find Usher's "Yeah", the song that was playing when they met. _Maybe it'll help him remember._

It also helps him segue into mentioning the party. And as soon as he brings it up, Kenta starts squirming. _"Were you just pretending to forget who I am?" Sanggyun asks, trying to keep his tone as light as possible._

__

Kenta tells him he really didn't remember, that his friends were the ones who told him. Then he falls quiet again, but his voice lilts at the end in a way that indicates he wants to say more. Sanggyun glances at him, sees that his cheeks are turning red and bites back his own smile. _Cute._

So they saw them kiss, apparently — Kenta mentioning it himself makes Sanggyun's confidence waver, as his mind briefly flashes back to the party, the taste of Kenta's lips and how nicely his body felt when he was pressing up against him — Sanggyun gulps, and he hopes Kenta doesn't notice.

Kenta knowing they kissed, them talking about it now adds a new layer onto the tense kind of air between them. He starts questioning Sanggyun further, in a very nervous-sounding voice and it hits him:

If his friends saw them kiss, did they see them leave together? Did they even tell him? Would that mean Kenta is _actually_ , for real, assuming they did more than just kissing?

He blinks at the cars ahead of them through the windshield. _Oh. Oh man._ He has to tell him the truth. 

Sanggyun is honestly, truly, a good person. He knows right from wrong, he knows that being honest is a virtue and all that. But above all else, he is a man, and as a man he is curious to know what Kenta _thinks_ of the idea of them hooking up. Does he like the idea? If so, does that mean he'd _want to? Sanggyun grips his steering wheel a little more tightly as he wills the Man inside him to chill the fuck out._

__

The air is absolutely charged with _something_ as they talk about that night, and Sanggyun definitely feels some heat under his collar while Kenta is looking at him and asking him whether the kiss was good, forcing him to think about it again. Was it good? Yes. Hell yes. "Yeah, I think so anyway," he’s amazed by how cool he still manages to sound.

A tiny drum beats fast on his ribcage. He's still waiting for Kenta to ask _that_ question himself so he can get it over with but he doesn't ask, right away, and Sanggyun is dying from the suspense — in desperation, he decides to put on a song he remembers Drunk Kenta mentioning.

Kenta's reaction is more adorable than he anticipated. Sanggyun can't help but laugh at his gaping, but he recognizes the sparkle in Kenta's eyes from that first night and it makes him feel soft. Accidentally, Sanggyun ends up blurting some stuff how cute Kenta was and how much he liked listening to him talk until he finally stops himself, pressing his lips together.

Keep it _together,_ Sanggyun, jesus—

When Kenta _finally_ asks, Sanggyun leaves a dramatic pause between question and response because he's trying to tell whether or not Kenta seems hopeful. He thinks so, but maybe that's just him being overconfident. The fact that Kenta doesn't seem to _hate_ the idea, at least, sends Sanggyun's mind going down some questionable roads and he panics lightly. Without really thinking, he makes a joke about spooning. He was _going_ to add a more serious answer afterward but Kenta beats him by speaking up again, clarifying what he meant even though Sanggyun already knows. He mentions the word 'spicy' and Sanggyun can't help but laugh again. How can he be _this_ fucking endearing?

He gives in and tells Kenta the truth, not looking at him because talking about it is making even _him_ feel a tiny bit embarrassed, too. He explains that Kenta was way too drunk for them to do anything serious. He hopes this is a relief for him — he doesn’t want Kenta to think he’s a gross horndog or anything. Well, he _is_ sort of a horndog. But he's not gross.

He is expecting the awkward moment that comes afterward, but Kenta's reaction is... weird. It's not surprise, or disappointment, or even relief — he just starts to sound confused. He speaks again, and he's stuttering. _I felt you—_

What?

Sanggyun looks at him, eyebrows raised. Kenta's face is beet-red. _Uh._ Sanggyun just told him the truth and he was blacked out the whole time so, then, why does he look so agitated?

Kenta mentions a dream. He questions if it's real, staring holes into him, and Sanggyun finally understands.

Heat flushes through him as his heart thuds. He wasn’t prepared for this. Kenta had a dream about him. A _wet_ dream about him. That's why he's been so embarrassed this whole time — it wasn't just an assumption made by his friends but something he... imagined?

_Holymotherof—_

He doesn't know how to properly react. He finds himself smiling, and because he doesn't know any other way to diffuse tension (even incredibly spicy tension) and because he’s a total and complete _dumbass_ who doesn’t know how to act with people he actually acts, he quickly makes some dumb jokes about it.

He should've paid attention to Kenta's reactions more; by the time he realizes Kenta is upset, it's too late.

Sanggyun watches him walk into his building, pouting. Sanggyun's gut squeezes painfully. Why is he so dumb? He just had real-life proof that Kenta really liked him and then he fucked it up. He doesn't completely understand why Kenta got so mad but he feels pretty fucking awful for it.

"There we go, Sanggyun," he sighs. "Making things weird as usual. Great job."

He presses his lips together, staring through his windshield with his hands still gripping his steering will, guilt searing his stomach, but he drives away a minute later.

The only text message Sanggyun receives that night is actually another threat from the Donghan guy —

> **[ 01:10 ] Donghan:** Come to joyfull tomorrow or die _  
> _

The next one comes a second later, as Sanggyun watches his phone with a blank expression: 

> **[ 01:10 ] Donghan:** He's working alone until 4, go talk to him

And then: 

> **[ 21:11 ] Donghan:** unless ur a Coward

Why does he feel like he's getting used to this?

Despite his annoyance, Donghan's terrorist tactics actually work pretty well. Sanggyun makes a mental plan to go to JoyFull tomorrow no matter what. While washing up for bed, Sanggyun looks in the mirror and slaps at his cheeks, giving himself a little silent pep talk. He’s going to find Kenta tomorrow, and he’ll tell him how he really feels, and he won’t joke around to make himself feel less vulnerable. 

It’s all easier said than done, but Kenta is worth it.

(And this Donghan kid really  _is_ scary...)

 

* * *

* * *

> **_JANUARY 26TH, JUST BE JOYFULL, 2:02PM._ ** **_  
> _ ** **_( — KENTA. )_ **

Kenta is known for being maybe a little emotional at times, but he always cools down quickly. All it takes is a few moments alone for him to realize when he's reacted to something a bit strongly in the moment — and he really isn't the type to be angry or upset. Thus, he actually forgave Sanggyun the instant he stepped into his own apartment — but he still felt too awkward and embarrassed to answer Sanggyun’s ‘hey’ or even to touch his phone after he had calmed down from his initial freak-out.

He’s confused as to how to approach talking to Sanggyun again. What is he supposed to do now? Ask Sanggyun to _tell_ him if he means it? Donghan did suggest it. In fact, last night Donghan and Taehyun both offered to interrogate Sanggyun in a good-cop-bad-cop routine to find out his true feelings _if_ Kenta thinks that would help him. Kenta was quick to say no because imagining Donghan and Taehyun in police uniforms interrogating Sanggyun makes him feel a little weird. Interested, but weird. More importantly, Kenta is afraid that this _will_ turn out to have been a joke, or a mistake, even though he'll admit that at this point that doesn't seem too likely. But it's not worth the risk — Kenta would rather leave it at this then potentially have to deal with being rejected by the only person who's managed to catch his feelings in years. 

He tells himself not to bother. But when he walks past the cafe that Saturday morning , he glances quickly through the glass door to try to see him. He's not there, and Kenta is disappointed but he tells himself it's for the best.

By around 2PM, Kenta is finishing up one of his chores and now wondering if he should just suck it up and text him back. He wanders towards where his phone is kept on Taehyun's desk and picks it up, going to type out a message as the front door chime signals a customer coming in.

Kenta bites his lip and sets his phone down mid-'hey' (he really couldn't think of anything else even now.) He rounds the corner and accidentally lets out a gasp at seeing him standing there at the register, even if it's what he was hoping for.

"Yo," Sanggyun, though he smiles a little, looks genuinely nervous. Kenta manages to keep his gaze calm, but his heart, not so much; it beats faster as he stares across at the other man. "Are you busy?"

Kenta stays quiet at first. Truthfully, no, he's not; there are no orders and his last customer left the store a few minutes ago. "A little bit," he answers, trying to make his tone sound breezy to mask his excitement. "Are you ordering something?"

"Yep, I'm just here for a pizza," Kenta blinks slowly at Sanggyun's sarcasm. He expects more when Sanggyun opens his mouth, but instead he makes a strange expression, shakes his head and presses his lips together like he's forcing himself to look serious. "Sorry. Um, no, I want to talk."

 _Oh, an honest answer for once..._ Kenta can see that Sanggyun is acting differently from how he was in the car last night. He's fiddling with his hands a little, his expression still fairly calm but there's a note of nervousness in his eyes.

But Kenta squints, doing his best to pretend he’s still mad even though he's most definitely feeling fond over Sanggyun's nervous mannerisms. "You’re here because Donghan threatened you again."

Sanggyun's eyes widen. "Uh..." He looks a bit stressed, and Kenta softens visibly this time.

"You can ignore him, you know, he won't actually do anything." He chews his cheek, letting some of his disappointment show on his face. Of course Donghan sent him. If Sanggyun had come here on his own, it would be different...

"No," Sanggyun replies more strongly. "No, I mean _yes_ he did threaten me, but no, that’s not all of why I’m here — I really do want to talk to you. I hurt your feelings yesterday, right? I'm sorry." He blurts out, then clears his throat. "And I have more important things to say than that! So! We should talk. Right now."

Kenta's stomach flips. This could either go really well or really poorly. Kenta's instinct is to deny Sanggyun the chance and back away, stopping himself from getting hurt again like last night.

He pretends to type on the computer keyboard, just like he did when Sanggyun _first_ came into the store to bother him. "You want to talk now? Right here? I'm working."

Sanggyun pouts. "Can’t we talk in the kitchen or something?"

"What?" Kenta says indignantly, eyes widening a bit. "No." He taps the little plaque beside him and reads it out loud. "'Employees Only'." 

hyu

There's a sigh from Sanggyun and he shifts again, this time crossing his arms over his chest. His tone remains low, but his eyes squint a in what Kenta _thinks_ is an amused expression... maybe? There's a moment where he hesitates, though, as Kenta blinks and tries to read his expression. And then: "Okay, do you want me to confess my feelings for you in front of your whole store, then?"

"N-" Kenta starts.

Then, he stops.

His eyes widen, his mouth drops open and that familiar heat comes crawling up his neck, burning at his ears and cheeks.

 _He just confessed, right?_ Kenta knew already — but his heart still runs with it, and he leans on the counter to support himself with a weak little  _"your feelings?"_

"Yeah. One sec."

Sanggyun spins around on his heel, and before Kenta can register what's happening, he cups his mouth and abruptly calls out to the seemingly empty restaurant:

"TAKADA KENTA, EVER SINCE THE MOMENT OUR LIPS MET, YOU HAVE BEEN ON MY MIND LIKE—"

"Oh my God-" Kenta cuts him off, choking. "Oh my God, I can't believe you actually— _okay,_ I get it, stop!" he cries out, alarmed. Removing his hands from where they had flown to his mouth, he grabs at the air in vein, trying to reach Sanggyun's shoulders to make him _shut up_.

Sanggyun _does_ stop, but not because of Kenta; he halts because a head lifts up over the partition in the middle of the dining room, where a customer was apparently sitting at one of the tables. Both Kenta and Sanggyun gawk as the man raises a calm thumbs up.

Sanggyun drops his arms and turns back around.

He sheepishly clears his throat. "So we should probably talk in the kitchen?" 

Kenta nods vigorously, burning.

 

* * *

 

"Alright. No jokes," Kenta is saying, standing in front of Sanggyun with his arms crossed as Sanggyun starts leafing through a catalogue on Taehyun's desk. "Don't touch that! You're not supposed to be in here."

Sanggyun drops the magazine and looks at him. "No jokes,” he repeats. Pause. “I have never told a joke in my life. I, Diet Sanggyun, am now ninety-nine-per-cent-joke-free—"

Kenta waits for him to shut up, and he does. "Yeah... sorry, go ahead."

There's a moment of silence as Kenta shifts a bit from one foot to another, chews his lip, and then: "So… you really like me?"

"Yes," Sanggyun answers so directly that Kenta's taken aback for a moment. And he just leaves it at that, staring straight at Kenta, a very light, fond smile curling up at his lips.

Kenta nods slowly, unsure of what he's supposed to say next. "Ah. Um. That's good." Another pause. "How... how much?"

He cringes at himself. _How much!?_ Kenta, you _idiot,_ nobody asks that—

"Enough to kind of stalk you around work?" Sanggyun replies in a ‘duh’ sort of tone, raising both eyebrows. Kenta gives him a little frown, which has Sanggyun raising his hands in defense. "That doesn't count as a joke!"

Kenta isn't sure what to say. Or, well, he does, but he doesn't have any practise wording it properly; he's genuinely never had someone actually confess like this before. It’s always been more ambiguous, or half-hearted, or otherwise not really _real._ Kenta’s heart thumps, a feeling he’s still not getting used to despite it happening all the _time_ when Sanggyun is around.

He chews his lip. Sanggyun seems both expectant and nervous, rubbing his arm and looking at him, his expression mostly unreadable save for the hopeful glint in his eye and nervous licking of his lips as Kenta takes a breath before shrugging, smiling a little and finally saying it out loud: “I like you too.”

The tension built up in the room begins to dissolve a little. The happy, relieved smile growing on Sanggyun's face is beautiful, and Kenta notices the way his whole body seems to relax as he leans back, looks at him, and gives a fairly in-character little: “Cool.” 

 

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

Sanggyun got ready to leave a few minutes after the confession, but he made sure to ask Kenta out on a "real life" date before he left — of course, Kenta agreed, and when Donghan showed up to his shift later the good news made him pick Kenta up and hug him. Kenta triedto ream him out for threatening his love interest but Donghan's genuine excitement over today's developments made it hard for Kenta to swallow his own giddy, excited feelings.

Taehyun congratulated Kenta in the group chat as well, to Kenta's embarrassment. While he knows _why_ his friends seem so shocked and excited by him going on a date (it's been _years_ for him) but he's nervous. Once the butterflies from the conversation in the kitchen have dissipated, some of Kenta's older worries bubble back up to the surface. Sanggyun said he likes Kenta — and Kenta does him now — but he wonders if Sanggyun will think the normal Kenta is boring. Now that there's no reason for them to bicker, will it be awkward? Sanggyun seems easygoing and full of charm, and Kenta is usually pretty good at holding conversation himself, but Kenta knows that when Sanggyun is around he's more likely to fumble his words or get distracted.

He doesn't have time to change his mind, though. When Kenta's shift is over, Donghan shoves him out the back door shouting something about saving room for Jesus and then Kenta is headed home to change into something nice before Sanggyun picks him up later. When he gets on the bus, he unlocks his phone to see some texts that he'd missed while his phone was charging at work:

> **[ SMS from: Kim Sanggyun: ]** u know, i was gonna take u to wanna slice because today's milkshake monday but then i realized if i took u to eat pizza u might hate me again
> 
> **[ SMS from: Kim Sanggyun: ]** so i made a reservation at a fancy restaurant that does NOT serve pizza. ur welcome!
> 
> **[ SMS from: Kim Sanggyun: ]**  i'll still order milkshakes though if u want 
> 
> **[ SMS from: Kim Sanggyun: ]**  unless ur lactose intolerant... are u lactose intolerant? does cheese pizza make u sick then??
> 
> **[ SMS from: Kim Sanggyun: ]**  sorry i'm just excited lol
> 
> **[ SMS from: Kim Sanggyun:  ]** see u soon :)

Rolling his eyes (and smiling), Kenta picks an animated smiling sticker to send back.

 

* * *

 

The night sky doesn't show much of the stars (thank you, light pollution) but it's nice enough to see the moon overhead, and the bright lights of the city streets seem, to Kenta, like they're prettier than usual.

The two chat about mundane things as they walk away from the restaurant, slowly making their way to where Kenta's apartment building is. Sanggyun had surprised him by picking a place nearby so that he could park his car and they'd walk there and back, since the weather is chilly, but okay. The restaurant is still bustling behind them, busy despite the fact that it's a Monday night. The place was on the expensive side, and Sanggyun tried to pay the whole bill but Kenta had insisted on paying his half. Sanggyun complained about not being able to treat him and Kenta slipped an uncharacteristically smooth _you can do it next time_ that managed to make Sanggyun blush as he agreed. Thus, they've already confirmed the second date.

Sanggyun walks close to him with his hands in the pockets of the nice suede jacket he's put on. Kenta can't help looking at him several times as they walk — he's combed his hair and under his nice jacket, donned an off-white button up (Kenta noticed in the restaurant he's already undone enough buttons to show his collarbone and chain necklace, which seems funny to him considering it's cold enough outside to need a jacket. It must be intentional, he concludes, which makes him both amused and a bit flustered.)

Kenta himself is dressed up a little, too, in his layers and dress pants and his most expensive shoes; though he worries it's a little too much for the look he's going for (Semi-Formal-Chic). He hopes it at least looks effortless, despite him taking hours to decide on the outfit earlier.

"Tell me more about yourself," Kenta says. "Since you already know so much about me." Like his giant crush on Teen Top Ricky. He doesn't tell that to just _anyone._

Sanggyun looks over at him and hums. "Sure. What do you want to know?" He purses his lips. "Should we play that questions game again?"

"No!" Kenta interrupts quickly enough to make Sanggyun laugh. "No games this time, just, tell me something about you." There's a small pause. "Say anything, really," he adds a little softly, at which Sanggyun's eyes sparkle.

Kenta really could listen to Sanggyun talk about anything. When he's not teasing him or cracking jokes, his tone is gentler. Even when he's talking more seriously about simpler things, he still has that smile on his face; Kenta knows now that smiling is just sort of his default. It's very endearing. Sanggyun doesn't babble as much as Kenta does, he seems like more of a listener; he spends time picking and choosing his words more carefully. He still hasn't mentioned much about himself yet, but Kenta wants to know everything about him... He reminds himself, though, that he has _time_ to learn more about Sanggyun. The thought makes him excited.

Is it too soon to be this whipped? (Kenta is glad that Donghan taught him that word. It fits his current feelings pretty well.)

Finally answering his question, the dark-haired man hums in thought. "Alright... I'm a Gemini, I like going to the gym and people tend to compare me to a dog. In a nice way. I think."

Kenta blinks, waiting. When Sanggyun doesn't say anything else, Kenta looks at him in defiance: "Is that all you've got? That could be a Tinder bio."

Sanggyun laughs. "Yeah? I wouldn't know, I've never been on Tinder. I've never been in a relationship, actually—"

Kenta stops walking for a second, gawking. "Really?"

Sanggyun's gaze turns sheepish as he glances across at Kenta. "Yeah…” Then he smiles coyly. "Ah... so that's what you want to know, the _juicy_ details, huh?"

He's joking, but Kenta nods anyway. Sanggyun blinks at him and then continues talking, his tone falling back into that calmer more serious one. Is it just Kenta, or does he seem a bit... shy? "I mean, I haven't been avoiding dating or anything, I just, wasn't super interested in anyone I guess. I never really do... _dates._ "

Kenta watches Sanggyun closely. His voice comes out small, adorable, as he gives a little shrug and looks away: "Then I got dragged out to a New Year's party."

Kenta bites down on his smile. His situation is almost exactly the same, but he doesn't want to make this part of the conversation about himself when Sanggyun seems like he has more to say. Kenta prompts him by bumping his arm a little, and Sanggyun goes on:

"I've messed around with people, okay, so I'm not completely a loser. I still haven't been on a date before, though," He pauses, then laughs, pushing a hand up through his hair. "Okay, no, I _am_ a loser. But"

Here, he looks back at Kenta. The sparkle in his gaze sends a warm feeling spreading out from Kenta's heart.

"You're, um, special, I think. There's no other way to put it."

Kenta can't stop beaming. "You're really going to be this cheesy on our first date?" He teases, smacking Sanggyun's sleeve with his palm. Sanggyun looks embarrassed and mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like a pun on cheese pizza.

The hand Kenta had used to hit him rests there for a little bit, before he makes his second uncharacteristically bold decision of the day and slides his hand down to take a hold of Sanggyun's. Sanggyun doesn't stop him — in fact, when Kenta entwines their fingers together he thinks he can feel him melt.

 _This is nice,_ he thinks, looking up at the sky and thinking about how warm Sanggyun's hand feels in his. He does remember holding Sanggyun's hand on that first night, too. Being reminded of New Year's again makes Kenta's mind flash back to _that_ snippet of the dream — the one he knows now isn't real, but he blushes lightly anyway. He glances over to look at Sanggyun's face again, taking in his side profile without him noticing. A snowflake falls and rests on one of Sanggyun's eyelashes and Kenta finds himself staring as Sanggyun continues talking.

As they round a corner, the conversation turns lighter again. Doing his best to steer the conversation towards Sanggyun's life and hobbies and interests, he finds out that Sanggyun is interested in producing his own songs, having graduated from a sound engineering program a couple years ago, but it's never caught on. He's apparently Hyunbin's friend because the two of them made an unsuccessful mixtape a few years ago. He finds out that he's allergic to cats but he loves dogs, and that he watches far more anime than Kenta does — or rather, he mostly just watches Fullmetal Alchemist over and over.

Every detail Kenta picks up about Sanggyun, small or otherwise, is logged, stored away under the 'Reasons To Like Sanggyun' list that grows longer and longer as the night wears on.

When the conversation lulls again, Kenta wonders if he should bring up the thing that's been on his mind the most. Sanggyun's shoulder brushes his as they walk and he's close enough that Kenta catches hints of his light cologne on the breeze. The more he's reminded of how close Sanggyun is, the more Kenta finds his mind turning to that night, even though Sanggyun seems to have made a point to not bring it up (which Kenta appreciates, but... still.)

Kenta's building is in sight now, and they'll be there in minutes. As they approach, Kenta decides to step up and steel himself:

"We've done this whole thing sort of backwards, kissing first and then confessing and _then_ going on a date," he ventures, a bit shy. Sanggyun looks over at him. "It's kind of abnormal, right?" Kenta tilts his head a little, not quite looking at Sanggyun as he's far too aware of how he's making himself blush just at _mentioning_ the kiss. "But I don't think we should count the kiss since I don't remember it."

"Oh?" Sanggyun blinks t him. After a moment, hee pouts. "But it was a good kiss."

"But that's not fair to me," Kenta continues in a light-hearted tone, acting brave despite his speeding heart. "So, I think we should, um..." He falters, floundering for words. _Damn you, Kenta, just ask him to kiss!,_ he curses himself, biting his lower lip. _Donghan will never let you live for this!_ He can _hear_ Donghan calling him a Coward, a Weenie, a Loser, etc. The thought of Donghan nagging him is _almost_ enough to motivate Kenta to keep going. _Almost._ But Kenta remains frozen, sheepishly looking off. "Never mind."

Though Kenta isn't looking at him, Kenta swears he can _feel_ Sanggyun’s smile on him. He comes to a stop, and Kenta stops a second later. Kenta looks up to see that they're at his building already.

He feels like he's dying.

Sanggyun pipes up: "I know I said I’ve never gone out with someone, but I'm pretty sure I've heard people don't normally kiss on the first date." Pause. "There's a song that kinda goes like that, actually—"

Kenta juts out his lower lip a little, looking at the ground. "It's _technically_ not our first kiss, though..."

Sanggyun laughs and tightens his hold on Kenta's hand. "You just said the first one didn't count."

Kenta glances up just to see that Sanggyun's facing him. And he's _close._ It's something he anticipated, was hoping for, even, but Sanggyun’s light teasing has him suffering anyway.

The dim street-lighting shouldn’t be flattering on anyone, but it lights up Sanggyun’s cheekbones and cupid’s bow and it twinkles in his eyes in just the right way to make him look even more handsome than before. He’s just looking at Kenta expectantly, looking all gorgeous and stuff, gaze boring holes through Kenta's head.

 _He’s really going to make me ask,_ Kenta thinks, making a face. _Still being a punk even now_ —

"Can we just freaking kiss already?" Kenta blurts out in frustration, trying to make his voice sound fake-annoyed and firm but it lilts at the end, cutting off in a breath as Sanggyun grins, steps close and closes the gap, and then there's warmth on Kenta's lips.

Kenta's heart sings and he closes his eyes, feeling Sanggyun's smile against his as they kiss, gently but with the strange kind of urgency that comes with _finally_ kissing after weeks of wanting to — it's not really anything like the kiss in Kenta's dream — this one is slow, gentle, like Sanggyun is being careful, or maybe savouring the kiss. Kenta just moves his lips with his and fights the urge to make him come closer, an urge that grows the more Sanggyun's sweet cologne and soft mouth take over Kenta's mind.

Sanggyun pulls away, to Kenta's dismay. But he takes Kenta's other hand and holds it, too, just looking at him fondly while Kenta stands there feeling a bit loopy.

"Was the other kiss like that?" Kenta asked, a little dazed.

Sanggyun pauses, then shakes his head. "Nah, I like this one better. Less tequila involved."

Kenta feels a twinge of embarrassment, but he’s too happy to honestly care.

As they stand like this, looking like fools in front of Kenta's apartment building, it hits him now. He’s on a date with _Kim Sanggyun,_ The Worst Customer Ever, His First Real Crush (Other Than Ricky) and he just kissed him, without panicking or running away. And that he can, in theory, kiss him many more times just like that, too.

“Thanks for making a dumb order and calling my store seven times,” says Kenta dreamily.

“Um… you’re welcome,” answers Sanggyun, his confused expression so cute that Kenta can’t help but laugh and lean in to kiss him softly again.

 

* * *

>   **[ SMS from: Sanggyun <3: ]** hey
> 
> **[ SMS from: Sanggyun <3: ]** i think i left something with u
> 
> **[ SMS from: Sanggyun <3: ]** ❤❤❤❤❤❤ a pizza my heart ❤❤❤❤❤❤  
>    
>  **[ SMS to: Sanggyun <3: ]** ...You’re so lucky I like you...

 

* * *

 

 **FIN.**  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after 189183 years... the conclusion to the story that is dearest to my heart... The OG Kenggyun TT
> 
> i struggled with this update a lot because 1) i've never ended something like this before honestly 2) i ran out of jokes (that's why this chapter is Not really funny i'm sorry, call it a diet chapter) and 3) as you've probably noticed, there were some storylines i didn't get a chance to tie up. i realized that if i had written about the other subplots i've hinted at, this story would have to go on for waaaaaaay longer,,, and it was more important to me to make sure i let kenggyun Finally get together properly asdfgh;;; there's room for spin-offs now though. a YONGGUK-CENTRIC spinoff because my poor babie didn't make it into the final draft of this TT _____ TT I'M SORRY... I LOVE U.... 
> 
> AHH more seriously i want to thank everyone for sticking with me for so long!! i'm really sorry about how long my impromptu hiatus was, i could make a million valid excuses tbh But. even if i'm not happy with this final product i Am happy that i get to finish it & to share my first kenggyun with all of u. so thank u, from the bottom of my heart <3 i love u and i hope this conclusion was at least a little bit okay!
> 
> P.S: i called their date "epilogue" because i added it afterward and it's sort of......long enough that it could be it's own chapter? i wasn't sure whether to include all of it but i rlly liked having kenggyun's Whipped energy because what is kenggyun if not incredibly soft and lame tbh
> 
> P.P.S: the reason kenta said "can you just Freaking kiss me" is because i thought it would be rly funny if kenta censors himself out loud too and it made sense considering he tries to describe sex as "yknow spicy stuff"  
> .. I'm Sorry #LetKentaSayFuck


End file.
